Friends to Lovers
by HeroxPartnerfan96
Summary: Ash and May first meet at the start of Ash's new journey in Hoenn and they decide to travel together. As their adventure goes on, new feelings surface and the two become close in ways they never expected. Advanceshipping and other pairings, chapters 17 to 28 in progress
1. How We First Met

**Friends to Lovers**

**(This can be considered a remake of my original Advanced Generation adaptation, but this will be much better than the last one. This will be a combination of the anime and my own ideas in celebration of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire's upcoming release. With all that said, hope you enjoy!)**

**Chapter 1: How We First Met**

At the Hoenn Region, somewhere out in a clear path heading through a forest, the sound of a bike wheel could be heard streaking down the path. Suddenly, a red bike with someone riding on it lifted up into the air for a few moments before landing safely on the path and continuing its way. The person riding the bike was a thirteen year old girl with bright blue eyes wearing a red dress-like outfit with a dark blue collar on the top and a large white stripe on the end with her yellow bag strapped around her waist, short dark blue leggings, black socks with red shoes on top that had a yellow stripe streaking across the side, a white strap on the top with a dark blue oval shape underneath, white gloves with the finger areas coloured dark blue and had a dark blue stripe on the bottom and a red bandana with a white Pokeball symbol on the left side tied around her dark brown hair which hung down in two pigtail-like sections. Her name was May Maple and she was on her way to Littleroot Town to pick up her first Pokemon. With a bright smile on her face, May started to increase her cycling speed.

'_Littleroot Town is just up ahead. I won't be too far now.' _May thought, now knowing that she was getting closer to her destination. But then she felt like that there was something beside her and slowly turned her gaze to the left to see a grey-coloured ghost floating that had a skull for a face, two bone symbols in its back and a single red eye in the centre of its mask face: from what May remembered at Trainer School, that was a Duskull. May's eyes immediately bulged and she screamed in alarm, but then she lost control of her bike and skidded down the hill before slamming head-first into a tree she didn't see coming. "I guess I…should have worn a…helmet." May groaned before she dropped down onto the ground. Duskull looked down at her lying on the ground and chuckled at its prank before floating away.

May slowly sat up and rubbed her head before looking up at the Duskull leaving with a frown crossing her face. "That isn't funny! I could have gotten hurt!" May yelled not realizing that the Duskull couldn't hear her. She glared for a few moments before she sighed in dismay and got back up on her feet. "To be honest, I don't really like Pokemon." May commented, speaking more to herself as she bent down, lifted her bike up and hopped on to continue her way. "But the travelling, I really love it!" she added with a bright smile replacing her frown as she resumed pedalling up the hill.

May soon made it to the top of the hill and she stopped to have a look at the view. "Wow!" May whispered in awe; she could see the buildings of Littleroot Town from where she was, and she knew that she was getting close to her destination. She then looked down to see a ferry heading across the ocean towards the port. "I wonder who would be on their way here." May commented as she watched the ferry. She then shook her head deciding not to think about it and continued pedalling so she could get to Littleroot Town quickly.

As May was cycling down the path, she didn't notice that the back wheel of her bike had come loose. After about a few seconds, the wheel suddenly broke off and May was sent going harshly to the left down towards the forest. May looked down in surprise wondering why she was going in a different direction, and she turned her head to find that the back wheel of her bike wasn't there anymore. "Oh no!" May cried, realising she was in trouble. She held on tight to the front bars as she zoomed down the grassy hill and then she dropped off the edge and was sent flying off her bike and landed on the grass hard. She then sat up and rubbed her head just to make sure that she hadn't landed on that. After making sure that her head was still intact, May looked back to find that her bike lacked one wheel and it had rolled down and landed beside the bike. "What am I going to do now? I don't know how to fix a bike." May said, looking at the broken bike in dismay. Thanks to that, not only was her bike in a bit of a wreck, but she was now a bit further away from Littleroot Town.

The bushes behind her suddenly started to shake, and May turned her head to see this. So she got up on her feet and slowly walked over to the bushes. "H-hello? Is someone there?" May asked, pushing the bushes aside to see what was there. She looked both directions a few times and then she looked to find herself staring face-to-face with three grey wolf-like Pokemon with black fur and bright red eyes, which started to growl angrily at her. May screamed in panic and fell backwards, quickly backing away in fear as the three Pokemon slowly walked out from behind the bushes glaring at her; from their appearance, May could recognize them as Mightyena. May slowly stood up, her heart pounding in her chest from fear. "They're probably angry because I landed in their territory." May commented to herself as she looked at the three Mightyena. She was able to stand upright and she slowly backed away while the Mightyena continued to growl at her. "I didn't mean to step into your territory. I'll just be leaving if that's what you want." May said, trying her best to avoid showing any signs of fear.

Unfortunately, the Mightyena seemed too angry to listen to reason and they immediately started to charge towards May. May screamed in panic, and then she turned around and made a run for it grabbing her bike and the broken wheel on the way. As May ran through the forest, she could see that the Mightyena were in hot pursuit behind her. "How did I end up in a mess like this?!" May asked, clearly not able to understand how she went from simply being on her way to pick up her first Pokemon to ending up being chased by three irritated Mightyena. She soon found that she was backed up against a cliff face and she turned to see the three Mightyena had her cornered.

"HELP!" May screamed, her voice echoing through the trees and scaring some bird Pokemon away.

Meanwhile on the ferry, a fourteen year old boy wearing a blue sweatshirt with a light blue half Pokeball symbol on the bottom and short dark blue sleeves, light blue tracksuit pants, blue sneakers with a white stripe on the bottom and two dark blue half-ovals on the front, black fingerless gloves with a big light green stripe on the end and a red cap with a big black oval shape in the middle and green Pokeball symbol in front over his raven coloured hair with a green bag that had black stripes and a red circle in the centre on his back was standing out on the balcony overlooking Littleroot Town coming closer into view. His name was Ash Ketchum and he was on his way to compete in the Hoenn League. Ash aspired to become a Pokemon Master and so far he had travelled through two different regions: his home region, Kanto, and Johto while also going through the Orange Islands, and Hoenn would now be the third region he had travelled to. Ash hadn't been travelling alone, however: he was joined by Misty Waterflower, a fiery water-type Trainer who was also one of the Cerulean Gym Leaders alongside her sisters, Brock Harrison, the Pewter City Gym Leader who was also training to become a Pokemon Breeder, and Tracey Sketchit, a Pokemon Watcher. Ash had recently parted ways with Brock and Misty, since Misty had to take charge of the Cerulean Gym while her sisters were out on a world tour and Brock had to resume his duties as the Pewter Gym Leader. Ash, in all honesty, really was hoping that he, Brock and Misty would all be going to this region since it was a lot of fun while they were travelling together. Regardless, Ash was certain that this would be another exciting adventure for him with so many new Pokemon to discover.

"Look out, Hoenn League! I'm on my way!" Ash cheered, his fist up in the air. Ash's partner Pokemon, Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder sighed and slowly shook his head at his friend's excitement. Ash looked over at Pikachu with a bright smile. "Sorry about that, Pikachu. It's just that you have no idea how excited I am. This is the start of a new adventure for us, with so many new Pokemon waiting for us and new places to explore. Are you ready for all this?" Ash asked.

"(You know I am, Ash!)" Pikachu agreed, a bright smile crossing his face with his fist up in the air. Pikachu was Ash's first Pokemon when he started his adventure and while the two didn't have an easy start, they had been best friends ever since. Pikachu also didn't like being inside a Pokeball; he preferred to stay outside and sit on Ash's shoulder. That wasn't an issue for either of them, since that meant they now took on all this travelling together.

At a different area of the balcony, the Rocket Trio consisting of Jessie Musashi, James Kojiro and Meowth could see Littleroot Town coming clear into view the closer they got; Jessie and James were both at least in their early twenties. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Littleroot Town. Please ensure that you have gathered all your belongings as we prepare for arrival." An announcement over the speakers said.

"Littleroot Town?" James asked. "The city whose colours will never change." James and Meowth both looked at Jessie in surprise; she was the one who said that. She was looking out at the approaching city with a smile on her face. "That's right. Littleroot Town has remained true to its roots." Jessie commented. She then rested her chin on her arms and closed her eyes as if she was lost in reminiscence. "I guess my colours have slowly been changing over the years." Jessie added.

James came over and stood next to Jessie wrapping his left arm around her, though she didn't seem to notice, while Meowth climbed up onto the top of the balcony bars. "What do you mean?" Meowth asked, having no idea what Jessie was talking about. "Jessie, have you been here before?" James asked, tilting his head out of curiosity. Jessie nodded in agreement and she then looked up at the clear blue sky watching the few clouds there were drift by.

"Is this...all that there is?" Jessie asked. James and Meowth both stared at her, wondering what she was talking about. "Following the twerp and trying to catch that Pikachu. James, have we ever truly blasted off at the speed of light?" Jessie asked, turning her gaze to the other two members of their trio. James and Meowth were both silent before they turned to each other.

"Is she speaking hypothetically?" James asked. "If that means wacky, then yes." Meowth replied.

Wobbuffet then popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" prompting James and Meowth to look over at him. Jessie then grabbed out Wobbuffet's Pokeball and returned him into it, and then she happily sighed while James and Meowth both sighed in dismay.

Soon the ship landed at port and Ash quickly got off now arriving at Littleroot Town. "So this is Littleroot Town. It's huge!" Ash commented as he and Pikachu looked around in amazement. "(It sure is.)" Pikachu agreed nodding slowly, looking at the city with the same awe as Ash. As Ash started to walk forward to start looking around, he noticed that there was a phone just nearby.

"We better let Professor Birch know that we're here." Ash suggested. "(Good idea.)" Pikachu agreed. With this, Ash went over to the phone and grabbed it dialling the number of Professor Birch's lab, after which he placed the phone to his ear. After about a few seconds of waiting, the screen turned on and a man wearing a white coat on top of yellow, short dark green hair and glasses was shown. "Hello?" he asked. Ash smiled; he figured that it was one of Professor Birch's assistant.

"Hi there. My name's Ash. I was wondering if Professor Birch was available. He said to call and let him know that I had arrived in Hoenn." Ash explained.

"Professor Birch is out on the field conducting an experiment right now. I'll get in touch with him and let him know." The assistant said. "That's great. Thanks." Ash replied. With this, the screen turned off and Ash placed the phone back. He then turned to Pikachu who had been wondering what happened during that conversation.

"I don't think Professor Birch will be there for a while. So until he arrives, how about we do a bit of sightseeing?" Ash asked. "(Okay!)" Pikachu happily agreed, nodding immediately at this idea. With this, Ash rushed out into the city to have a look around. He happily smiled as he and Pikachu could see the various buildings around the area.

"This town is even bigger than I thought it would be. I guess that can be considered a good thing." Ash commented. Pikachu turned his head to notice something behind them, and then he smiled and started to tap Ash's head to get his attention. "What is it, buddy?" Ash asked, looking up at his little partner. Pikachu then pointed forward and Ash turned to see that there was an extra tall building that looked like it was nearly touching the sky. "Wow, that looks amazing! I don't think I've seen a building so big." Ash said, a bright smile crossing his face. He suddenly heard his stomach growl and looked over at Pikachu. "Why not we look for somewhere to have some lunch?" he suggested.

"(Sounds like a great idea to me. I'm a bit hungry myself.)" Pikachu agreed nodding; they had been on a ship travelling for about a few hours, so it would seem reasonable for them to grab a bite now.

Meanwhile out in the forest, May poked her head out from behind a bush to see the Mightyena that had been following her. They were looking around but didn't seem to notice any sign for her, so that meant that they seemed to have lost interest in pursuing her. Knowing that she was in the clear for the moment, May poked her head down and sighed in relief. "Well, at least I won't have to worry about them following me now. I need to find a place to get to higher ground." May said. She then poked her head back up and looked around for somewhere before she saw that just ahead from where she hid was a tree right beside a cliff face leading upwards and her bike was there as well: she could climb up the tree and continue her way to Littleroot Town before the Mightyena knew where she was.

"That's perfect! I'll be able to get higher up from there. I just need to make sure that the Mightyena don't notice me." May commented as she immediately ducked her head back down before the Mightyena saw her. She then slowly crawled out from behind the bush, got back up on her feet and started to slowly walk towards the tree making sure that the Mightyena didn't hear her. However, she didn't notice that there was a small stick lying in her path and she accidently stepped on it snapping it in half. May flinched at this and she slowly turned her head to see that the Mightyena had heard her, and they had spotted her and started to charge towards her. May jumped in panic before she immediately turned and started to run towards the tree with the Mightyena right behind her. Making it to the tree, Mat grabbed on and rapidly climbed up before she made it to a tree branch and sat down on it to catch her breath. She then looked down to see the Mightyena glaring up at her and growling, and a smile of satisfaction crossed her face.

"Sorry, you guys. But you won't be able to get me from up here!" May called, taunting the Mightyena. Unfortunately, the branch that she had decided to sit on must have been a bit weak because it started to break off. May then turned to see this and before she had a chance to jump off to the cliff face, the branch snapped off and May was sent tumbling down to the ground where the Mightyena were waiting for. They stepped backwards and watched as May landed on the ground. May then slowly sat up and lifted her head up to see the Mightyena glaring down at her. She immediately jumped up on her feet and quickly rushed off while the Mightyena followed.

"Come on, can't you give me a break? How long are you going to keep coming after me?" May asked, clearly starting to get exhausted from running away from these guys. She looked back to see that the Mightyena didn't seem to be tired in the slightest; it seemed like they didn't want to stop until they cornered her. "Someone please help me!" May yelled out; she didn't want to be taken down by these Pokemon.

Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were sitting at a diner enjoying some lunch: Ash was munching on a cheeseburger while Pikachu was enjoying a can of Pokemon food. "How are you enjoying your food, Pikachu? Is it good?" Ash asked, his mouth full of a chunk of cheeseburger. Pikachu turned to Ash, chewing on some Pokemon food before swallowing it and happily nodded.

"(It sure is, Ash. What about you?)" Pikachu replied. "Mine's great, thanks for asking. Glad you're enjoying your food as well." Ash responded, with the two friends happily smiling at each other. Ash had to admit that this had been a great start to arriving in Hoenn; he didn't need to worry about having to handle bigger worries before he could actually start travelling. But then, his eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something.

"Professor Birch will probably be waiting for us! We better hurry and run back to see him." Ash said. Pikachu nodded in agreement to that, so he jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and the two rushed out of the diner just as the waitress was coming to see them. She looked outside the door to see Ash already clear out heading back to the port. "He must be in a rush for something important." she commented.

Ash arrived back at the port and, upon hearing the sound of wheels scraping across the concrete, turned his head to see a large green vehicle pull up in front of him with someone behind the wheel: it was Professor Birch. "Are you Ash Ketchum?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's right. I called up earlier to let you that I arrived, but I was told that you were away. So I've been waiting here until you came." Ash agreed.

"Well, it's great to see you made it safely. Hop in with me and we'll go to the lab." Professor Birch said. Ash nodded in agreement, so he jumped in the seat beside Professor Birch and the two were off. As the car headed down the path, Ash could see that there was what looked like butterfly-like Pokemon flying through the air. "Ash, I was wondering if you had seen someone named May while you were waiting." Professor Birch said.

"No, I don't think so. Why's that?" Ash asked, shaking his head. "(I haven't seen anyone like that either.)" Pikachu added, shaking his head in agreement with Ash. Professor Birch didn't respond, so Ash looked down wondering who exactly that could be. Soon they arrived at Professor Birch's lab, which was a white building with a round yellow lab and several windows on the front and side. Inside, Ash was sitting on the couch still thinking about who Professor Birch asked him about a little earlier: he had to wonder who exactly May was, and why he was asked if he had seen her.

"So, who is May?" Ash asked, looking up at the assistant. "Oh, that's right. May's starting her adventure as a Pokemon Trainer. She called earlier to say that she was on her way, but she hasn't arrived yet. So we aren't sure of what's happened to cause May's delay." The assistant explained. Ash immediately couldn't help but smile hearing that May was starting her Pokemon journey, but then his smile faded upon remembering that she was being held up. If she was kept waiting much longer, she could miss out on getting her first Pokemon. Ash remembered the feeling of missing out on starting an adventure; that was nearly happened to him when he overslept the day he was getting his own Pokemon. Ash was lost in thought for a few moments, before he immediately smiled again getting an idea.

"I know! How about I help look for her?" Ash suggested. Professor Birch and the assistant both looked at each other in uncertainty; there was no telling where May could be or if she was even coming. "Don't worry, I've gotten lost myself and have always managed to find my way to wherever I was going. I'll make sure to find May and help her get to the lab in no time." Ash explained. Pikachu happily nodded in agreement, as if to say to leave it to Ash since he seemed to know what he was doing.

"All right then, we'll leave that to you, Ash. May should be easy to recognise; she's wearing a red bandana over her hair." Professor Birch said. Ash nodded in agreement, so he jumped up on his feet and headed outside to head to the forest. As he got close, he turned to Pikachu.

"Professor Birch said that May's wearing a red bandana, so if we see that we should be able to find her. So let's get going!" Ash explained. "(You got it, Ash!)" Pikachu agreed. With this, Ash rushed out into the forest unaware that the Rocket Trio were watching from a bush nearby.

"Wonder what's gotten into them?" Meowth commented. Jessie then sighed in dismay and crossed her arms. "Oh, goody... Where they run, we run too." Jessie said. James smiled nervously and said "It's what we do, Jess: chase." He then looked in the direction that Ash had gone and started to look in curiosity. "Who was this 'May' person he was talking about?" James asked, mostly to himself.

Meanwhile with May, she was continuing her running from the Pokemon chasing her down. She looked behind her back and noticed that the Mightyena were nowhere to be seen, and then she looked all around her to see that they weren't there. Realising that she was in the clear, May left out a long sigh of relief. "I guess they must have given up now. Now I can finally be on my way out of here." May said. However, hearing some growling from behind her immediately changed her mind and she slowly turned around to see the Mightyena: they had decided on a surprise attack. May screamed and stumbled back in panic to find that she had been cornered near a cliff edge and that just so happened to be where her bike was. Unfortunately, she didn't have any way to get up here leaving her trapped.

Meanwhile, Ash was running through the forest in search of May. "May! May, where are you?" Ash called. "(May? May!)" Pikachu added, helping in Ash calling out her name in the hopes that she would hear them. Just then, Ash suddenly heard a loud scream coming from nearby and turned his head to see that it was just up ahead.

"That sounded like it was May, and she might be in danger! We better hurry and find her!" Ash gasped. "(Okay!)" Pikachu agreed, immediately nodding in agreement. With this, Ash started to run to find May before anything bad happened to her.

Meanwhile, May slowly backed away the furthest she could go as the Mightyena slowly advanced towards her. "I guess my journey ends before it even begins." May said, now aware that she was trapped and she didn't have any way out. Up at the top of the cliff face, Ash arrived at the source of the scream, and he looked down and gasped in shock to see who looked like May backed into a corner by three Pokemon he had never seen before. The Mightyena then lunged forward, and May immediately closed her eyes and looked away awaiting the inevitable impact.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder into the air and released a strong bolt of electricity striking the ground between May and the Mightyena, frightening the Mightyena and sending them running away in fear. May slowly opened her eyes to find that she was still all here, and then she lowered her arms to see that the Mightyena were gone; they must have been chased away. May then sat down on the ground and sighed in immense relief; for a minute, she thought she was done for.

"Hey, need a hand?" May then stood up upon hearing that voice and looked around wondering who said that, and then she turned around to see that a hand was being lifted down towards her to help her get up the cliff face. Not looking up to see who was offering her help, May grabbed the hand and she was pulled up to the edge. Ash bent down to see May. "Are you all right?" he asked. May then looked up to see who had saved her and found herself face to face with Ash gently smiling at her with Pikachu looking at her from his shoulder. May found that she was at a loss of words: this was the most amazing boy that she had ever met, and that said a lot considering that she hadn't met many boys growing up. She then slowly smiled and nodded.

"I am now. Thank you so much." May replied, slowly standing up with Ash doing the same thing so they were in direct eye contact.

"You must be May, is that right?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement, but then she nearly jumped in surprise upon hearing that this boy she had just met knew her. "Wait. You know me?" she asked.

"I was told who you were so I could find you. My name's Ash." Ash replied. "(And I'm Pikachu, Ash's partner Pokemon.)" Pikachu added. May then smiled and nodded in understanding.

"Well, if that's true. Thanks, Ash." May said. The two then brightly smiled at each other; it was almost as if they were the only ones here and no one was around to disturb them.

Meanwhile, Professor Birch was out in a different area of the forest; he had gone out as well to find May. "May? Where are you, May?" he asked. He then took a step forward unaware that he was standing on the edge of a slope, and then he slipped and slid down the small hill dropping his bag at the top in the process, and dropped off a small cliff and landed on the ground startling a small grey wolf-like Pokemon that had been sleeping beside him. Professor Birch slowly sat up and he looked down to see the little Pokemon growling at him, to which he smiled nervously. "Oh, hi there. Sorry for just dropping in on you like that, Poochyena." Professor Birch said. The Poochyena lifted its head up into the air and let out a howl, causing two more Poochyena to scatter over and all three started to growl at Professor Birch.

They then lunged forward and Professor Birch was left running away from them around a tree. "Please, stop it! Can't we discuss this?" Professor Birch asked. However, it seemed that the Poochyena weren't up for listening to reason at the moment.

Hearing yelling for help from where they were, Ash and May both turned their heads in surprise. "What was that?" May asked. "It sounded like Professor Birch, and he could use some help! Let's go!" Ash said. The two started to rush off, but Ash stopped when he saw a red bike lying on the ground with a broken wheel beside it: it seemed like that was May's bike.

"May, what happened to your bike?" Ash asked. "Oh, I wasn't paying attention and the back wheel broke. And I don't know how to fix it either." May explained, looking down in dismay. Ash bent down to grab the bike, while Pikachu spun the back wheel over to him. Ash grabbed the wheel from Pikachu and put it back into place, and he lifted the bike up now that it was standing upright and stepped out of the way for May to see. May happily smiled seeing that her bike now looked right again.

"Wow, you fixed my bike? Oh, thanks Ash." May said. "No problem, May. Now we better hurry: Professor Birch will need our help." Ash replied, a determined expression replacing his smile at May's gratitude. May nodded in agreement, so she jumped up onto her bike and pedalled off to find Professor Birch while Ash ran alongside her. The two didn't take long to arrive and they saw Professor Birch had climbed up onto a tree branch to avoid the Poochyena, and he smiled to see Ash and May.

"May, there you are! Great timing. Quick, open the bag in front of you and grab one of the Pokeballs inside it." Professor Birch called. May looked down to see the bag in front of her, so she bent down and unzipped it to see that there were three Pokeballs inside. She then reached inside it, grabbed one of the Pokeballs and threw it up into the air, causing it to open and release a small blue Pokemon with orange cheeks that had fins on them, a light blue square tail and a long fin on its head. "All right, a Mudkip!" Professor Birch smiled.

"That's good. What do I do now?" May asked. "You need to tell it to use one of its signature moves, like Water Gun." Professor Birch explained.

"Okay. Mudkip, use Water Gun!" May replied, looking down at Mudkip. Mudkip looked up at May and shot a blast of water from its mouth at her face drenching her in water. Once Mudkip was done, May was soaked. "Is that supposed to happen?" May asked. Ash and Pikachu started trying to stifle their giggles after seeing that.

Professor Birch sighed upon realising that they weren't getting anywhere. But then the branch he was holding onto snapped and broke off sending him down to the ground and causing him to get chased by the Poochyena all over again. "Mudkip, this way! Over here!" Professor Birch called. Mudkip jumped off the edge while Ash and May watched and landed safely on the ground.

"Use Water Gun on the Poochyena!" Professor Birch said. Mudkip shot out a strong blast of water from its mouth at the Poochyena drenching them and sending them running away. Once they were gone, Professor Birch returned Mudkip to its Pokeball and looked up at Ash and May. "Thanks for your help, you two." he said.

"Oh, it was nothing." May replied, rubbing the back of her head while smiling nervously. "We didn't even do anything." Ash whispered turning to Pikachu. Pikachu then shrugged deciding it would be better not to correct that.

"It's good to see you're all right, May. I was worried that something might have happened to you." Professor Birch said. "Well, you should thank Ash for that. I wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for his help." May responded, looking over at Ash with a bright smile. A blush appeared on Ash's face, and he smiled nervously while slowly scratching his left cheek with one finger.

"So, May, are you ready to head over to the Lab and get your first Pokemon?" Professor Birch asked. Ash then brightly smiled hearing this. "Oh, that's right! You're going to get your first Pokemon. That's great!" he said. May nodded in agreement with a smile, but then she looked down with an expression of dishearten; she was wondering if she should say that she didn't like Pokemon or not.

A little later, Ash, May and Professor Birch were on their way to the Lab with May bringing her bike beside her. Ash turned his head to May and figured to start some conversation with her. "So, May, looking forward to getting your first Pokemon?" he asked. May looked up at Ash for a few moments and then she looked back down. Noticing that there wasn't a response, Ash's smile was replaced with an expression of concern. "Feeling a bit nervous about it?" he asked. Deciding not to mention her dislike of Pokemon, May looked back up at Ash and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know how that feels. I remember when I was going to get my first Pokemon too. I was excited about it, but I felt a bit worried since I couldn't decide who I wanted to get. But don't worry, May. Whoever you decide to choose, I'm sure you'll get along with them very well. Look at me and Pikachu." Ash explained, turning his head to Pikachu at the end of that. Pikachu happily smiled: he remembered that day as clearly as Ash did. May couldn't help herself smiling and she nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud stomp on the ground could be heard and the three turned around in surprise. "What's that?" May asked. Standing there before them was a large robot in the shape of a battery, and its arms and legs were in the shape of batteries and standing at the top of the machine where the plugs would be were the Rocket Trio, with Jessie and James having their hands together. Wobbuffet then popped out of his Pokeball like he usually did and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

"It's Team Rocket!" Ash gasped. "You know those guys?" May asked. I've never heard of them." Professor Birch commented.

"Believe me, they're always up to no good and they keep trying to catch Pikachu." Ash said. "(That's right. We always run into them.)" Pikachu agreed.

The Rocket Trio then jumped into their seats inside the machine. "I've been doing my homework and dig this. I've come up with a machine that will beat that pesky Pikachu at its own nasty game. No matter how high those volts go, this machine will absorb them!" Meowth explained.

"(Oh, I'll show you, Team Rocket!)" Pikachu called. He was about to jump off Ash's shoulder to take them down, but Ash quickly held him back. "Don't move, Pikachu! That machine will absorb your electricity." Ash warned. Pikachu quickly realised where Ash was getting at with this and nodded in understanding, figuring it would be better to stay put.

"That's how you want to play? Fine with us!" Meowth yelled from inside the machine. Just then, a mechanical claw shot out from inside the machine and grabbed Pikachu off Ash's shoulder, pulling him towards them and two metal plungers were attached to Pikachu's red cheeks. From inside the machine, James pulled a lever to start absorbing Pikachu's electricity and then suddenly, sparks of electricity started to fly everywhere while the battery gauge on the middle of the machine started to increase.

"What an electrifying moment for Team Rocket!" Meowth announced. "Shocking!" James commented.

Down on the ground, Ash, May and Professor Birch watched this on. Seeing his friend in danger, Ash started to run towards the machine but felt someone holding him back. He turned to see that it was May holding him by the shoulder. "Ash, don't! That machine is dangerous. You could get electrocuted badly!" May warned.

"I have to save Pikachu!" Ash retorted. He then pushed May's hand off his shoulder and ran towards the machine while May and Professor Birch watched on in disbelief. Ash grabbed hold of one of the machine's legs and started to climb up the body until he got to the arms holding Pikachu. "Don't worry, Pikachu! I'll get you off this thing!" Ash called, moving out of the way as electric bolts flew past him. He then grabbed hold of the claw and started pulling on it to try and get it to let go of Pikachu.

"Looks like we've got someone trying to step in and stop our absorption." Meowth commented. "Well, we'll give him a taste of his own electric medicine!" James replied. With this, the claw opened up dropping Pikachu onto the ground and grabbed hold of Ash instead.

"You won't get away with this, Team Rocket!" Ash called, struggling to get free of the claw's grasp. "Well, we'll just see about that!" Meowth replied. With this, he pulled one of the levers and the electricity that they had absorbed from Pikachu suddenly came back out of the machine and hit Ash instead. Ash then suddenly screamed as the electricity was shot into him: if he thought that getting shocked by Pikachu was painful enough, then this was giving Pikachu's shocks a run for their money.

"Ash!" May yelled. "Ash!" Professor Birch called. Pikachu slowly got up on his feet and shook his head, and then he looked around wondering what was going on before he looked up to see Ash getting electrocuted by Team Rocket's machine. "(ASH!)" Pikachu screamed, seeing his best friend being put through this amount of pain.

"What's the matter? Can't take the juice?" Meowth asked. "I'm sure he's seeing this as quite a shocking experience." James commented. Jessie glared at the two jokesters; she had enough of the bad electricity puns. "Will you two just be quiet?!" Jessie snapped, causing James and Meowth to nearly jump out of their seats in fear.

After about a few more seconds, the electricity stopped and the claw let go of Ash sending him down onto the ground. May and Pikachu both ran over to him to see him lying on the ground motionless. "Ash? Ash, are you okay? Ash?" May asked, shaking Ash rapidly. Pikachu looked down at his best friend sadly before he looked up at the machine the Rocket Trio were in with one nasty glare on his face.

"(You might try to capture me, but you do not, I repeat, _do not_ do that sort of thing to my best friend and get away with it. I'll make you pay for that, Team Rocket!)" Pikachu yelled, seething with fury and anger. Without any hesitance, he charged towards the machine at full speed and slammed into it, sending it tumbling backwards and landing on its back with a loud thud while the Rocket Trio were sent flying out of their seats and they slammed into the back and slid onto the floor.

"One lesson we should have learned..." James said. "...is not to mess with an angry Pikachu." Meowth finished.

"(You got that right! And this is for putting my friend through all that pain!)" Pikachu snapped, before releasing the strongest bolt of electricity he had ever released at the machine completely electrocuting it while small bolts were sent flying all over the place. As Professor Birch and May watched on with Ash still motionless in her arms, she turned to see her bike suddenly electrocuted into a crisp. "My bike's been barbequed!" she gasped in horror.

Inside the machine, the Rocket Trio were all getting pretty bad electric treatment, but Jessie wasn't fazed at all: as a matter of fact, she had a bright smile on her face. "We haven't been wasting our time after all. It's amazing that Pikachu is the only thing the Boss would want!" Jessie smiled.

"But have we captured..." James started. "...too much of a good thing?" Meowth finished. Wobbuffet suddenly popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

After about a few moments of electrocution, the machine exploded and the Rocket Trio were sent flying into the air. "Quite a Thunderbolt!" Meowth commented. "It has renewed my energy and passion!" Jessie smiled. The Rocket Trio were then sent flying into the sky and disappeared in a flash.

After the smoke cleared, Pikachu was standing there staring up at the sky where the Rocket Trio went. "(And good riddance! That should teach you a lesson about what happens when you mess with me and Ash!)" Pikachu yelled. Now that his anger had been taken out on the Rocket Trio, Pikachu then turned and ran over to May who was still bent down beside Ash. Pikachu walked over to Ash and nuzzled up against him; he didn't want to think that the worst had happened to him. "(Ash...)" Pikachu whispered, clearly in reasonable worry over his friend.

"It's okay, Pikachu. Ash is just unconscious. Hopefully he'll come to soon." May said, softly smiling at Pikachu. Hearing this, Pikachu sighed from immense relief: he was afraid that he was going to lose his best friend.

That evening back at Professor Birch's Lab, May and Pikachu were keeping a look out on Ash who was lying on a couch in the spare room. "Don't worry, Pikachu. Ash will be all right." May said, rubbing Pikachu's head reassuringly. Sure enough, the two looked down to see Ash slowly open his eyes and sit up, starting to rub his head.

"W-what happened?" Ash asked. He then turned to see Pikachu happily smiling at him, and then the little electric mouse Pokemon jumped into Ash's arms. "Pikachu! I'm so glad you're okay, little buddy." Ash smiled. Pikachu happily nuzzled up against Ash; he was so thrilled to see that his friend was all right. Ash then looked up to see May smiling, and then she came over to sit down beside him. "May? Where are we?" Ash asked, looking around unable to recognize his surroundings due to the electrocution he received earlier.

"We're in Professor Birch's lab. The assistant arrived and helped Professor Birch bring you back here. You've been out for a few hours now." May explained. Ash then suddenly remembered: he climbed up the machine to save Pikachu, and received one really bad shock because of that.

"I'm sorry I put myself in danger like that. It's just that I wasn't going to stand by and let Team Rocket do something like that to Pikachu. I must have really worried you, Pikachu and Professor Birch." Ash said looking down sadly. May simply shook her head, retaining the bright smile she had.

"We're not concerned about that, Ash. The only thing that matters is that you're all right, and that was all we were concerned about." May replied. Ash happily smiled at this: he was glad to hear that no one was upset at him for his risky actions. Just then, the group could hear the sound of footsteps and turned to see Professor Birch come inside.

"So, May, are you ready to choose your first Pokemon?" Professor Birch asked. Ash, May and Pikachu came inside the room where three Pokeballs sat on the desk: those were the three that Professor Birch had earlier. "These Pokeballs contain three beginner Pokemon. First up is Treecko." Professor Birch explained, picking up a Pokeball from the desk and opening it. Out came a light green gecko-like Pokemon with yellow eyes, a red colour on its belly and a dark green tail that curled on the end. "Treecko is a grass type." Professor Birch added. As soon as Treecko looked up at May, she scattered back in fright.

"It's creepy!" May gasped. "No, it's not, May. I think it looks cool." Ash replied.

"This is Mudkip." Professor Birch said, opening another Pokeball on the desk. Out came Mudkip, who tilted its head with a bright smile on its face. "Now that's a water type." Ash commented.

"That Mudkip wouldn't do a thing that I asked it to." May said. "Really? How can that little guy cause trouble?" Ash asked.

"You're really fond of Pokemon, aren't you, Ash?" Professor Birch asked. "Oh, you have no idea, Professor." Ash replied.

"Now I'd like you to meet Torchic. Torchic's a fire type." Professor Birch said, opening the last Pokeball on the desk. Out came a little orange chick Pokemon with yellow feathers and a spiked yellow feather on the top of its head with a smaller orange feather below it. Torchic then hopped towards May and started nuzzling against her legs.

"Look at that, May. Torchic likes you and it's just met you." Ash commented. May nodded in agreement; she noticed as well. She then bent down and picked Torchic up. "Then it's settled. I'm choosing Torchic!" May said.

Professor Birch then showed May six Pokeballs and a Pokedex. "Be sure to take these with you. If you work hard, you could become a better Pokemon trainer than your father." Professor Birch said. "That sounds like a great goal, doesn't it, May?" Ash asked, happily smiling.

"Yeah..." May nervously agreed. She then looked away and commented "I'd give up Pokemon any day of the week just for a free trip around the world." Unfortunately, Professor Birch must have heard her.

"What was that, May?" he asked. May nearly jumped and smiled nervously before saying "I wouldn't trade it for the world!" and laughing nervously.

The next morning, May was glaring at the burnt remains of her bike before she sadly sighed. "This is all Pikachu's fault. I think I'll have a word with Ash." May said, heading off to find where he was. She opened the door to the room where he was sleeping, but then her frown faded when she saw him sleeping peacefully with Pikachu curled up at the end with him. "Maybe I'm being a bit too hard on Ash. He was only trying to save Pikachu." May commented. She then closed the door a little bit as Ash then sat up in his bed letting out a loud yawn. He then looked to see Pikachu at the end waking up as well.

"Good morning, Pikachu. How did you sleep?" Ash asked, not noticing that May was at the door. Pikachu sat up and walked over to Ash. "(Oh, morning, Ash. I slept great.)" Pikachu replied. May then happily smiled as she watched this: she decided that it would be better to cut Ash a break. So she closed the door so she wouldn't interrupt them.

Outside, May released Torchic from her Pokeball and bent down to rub her chin. "Good morning, Torchic." May said with a bright smile. She then looked up to see Ash stepping outside with Pikachu on his shoulder and walked over to him. "Good morning, Ash. How are you feeling?" she asked. Ash turned his gaze to see May and smiled.

"Oh, I feel a lot better. Thanks." Ash said. "That's great news." May replied. Pikachu then jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran over to meet Torchic.

"(Hi there. My name's Pikachu.)" Pikachu said. "(Nice to meet you, Pikachu. I'm Torchic.)" Torchic responded. She then started to run off while Pikachu rushed after her in a game of tag while Ash and May watched on.

"Looks like they're getting along well already. You've made your first friend in Hoenn, Pikachu." Ash commented. May then turned to see the wreck of her bike lying against the wall nearby.

"My poor bike..." May sighed. She then turned away with a smile. "Oh, who cares?" A little later, Ash and May were ready to leave Littleroot Town and Professor Birch and his assistant had come out to see them off.

"You two will have to register for the Hoenn League at the nearest Pokemon Centre you can find." Professor Birch explained. "The closest one that I can think of is in Oldale Town." The assistant added.

May then placed her hands behind her back and looked up like she was thinking about something, while Ash turned his gaze to her. "Walking all that way alone makes me nervous, and not to mention my bike's destroyed, no thanks to Pikachu, Ash." May said. Ash nearly jumped in surprise at this. "There must be a solution: a way to get to Oldale Town safely on foot." May continued. Ash stared at May, wondering where she was getting at with this. "Hey, I know! Why don't we travel together? I happen to know the way to Oldale Town." May suggested with a bright smile on her face. Ash stared with uncertainty wondering if this was a good idea. "Hey, I don't mind at all. It's really no problem. Shall we?" May asked.

"(Sure thing!)" Pikachu immediately agreed. Ash looked at Pikachu before he smiled; if Pikachu was okay with it, he decided that he was okay with it too.

"All right then, May. We'll go together." Ash replied. May then turned away and happily cheered "Yes!" Ash looked at May, wondering why she was so happy about, but he decided to ask her about it later.

"That's a great idea. You can look after one another." Professor Birch said. "And be careful." The assistant added.

"Don't worry, we will." Ash replied. "We'll see you soon!" May said.

With this, Ash and May were on their way out of Littleroot Town and on the route towards Oldale Town. This was the start of a new adventure in Hoenn for both of them, little did they realise in more ways than one.


	2. Ancient Oldale Ruins

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 2: Ancient Oldale Ruins**

On Route 101, Ash and May were on their way to Oldale Town. Ash was walking quite clearly still going good, while May was lagging behind with her arms down in front of her exhausted since they had been walking for a while. Ash then turned to Pikachu who was on his shoulder. "Pikachu, since Oldale Town is so close, you want to race the rest of the way there?" Ash asked. "(Okay!)" Pikachu agreed, a bright smile crossing his face.

"Hey, hold up a minute!" Hearing that voice behind him, Ash stopped in his tracks and turned around to see that May wasn't following him: she had stopped because she was exhausted from walking for so long. "May, is there a problem?" Ash asked. May then stood upright since she lowered herself out of getting tired and started waving her arms as if to get Ash's attention.

"If I knew you'd run the whole way there, I wouldn't have offered you my help!" May called. "What are you talking about, May? I just want to make sure we get there before it gets dark." Ash replied. May stared at Ash with a frown of annoyance on her face, and then she looked to the side with her eyes having gone in the shape of black dots and commented "I did have a bike."

Ash nearly flinched upon hearing this: this was now the second time he was being reminded of a wrecked bike, and the first time was being shoved down his throat like no tomorrow. To avoid this incident from happening again, Ash smiled nervously. "I guess there's no harm in slowing down a little bit." Ash commented. "(Uh, yeah.)" Pikachu agreed, since even though it wasn't directly his fault, he was the one who destroyed May's bike in the first place.

"That's right!" May replied with a smile of satisfaction on her face. With this, the two continued on their way and then Ash turned to see that May had caught up alongside him. "Let's not forget that you also need to keep an eye on me on the way to Oldale Town. You wouldn't want me to end up lost now, would you?" May asked teasingly. Ash couldn't help smiling nervously and then he nodded: since May was just starting, it had to make sense that he had to be the one to keep an eye on her.

As the two continued their way down the route to Oldale Town, May figured that now would be an appropriate time to ask about something she didn't notice until now. "Hey, Ash?" she asked. "Yeah?" Ash asked in response, turning his head to look at her.

"I always thought that Pokemon were supposed to stay inside their Pokeballs, right?" May asked. "Yeah, but Pikachu likes it better staying outside with me. Right, buddy?" Ash replied, looking up at his little Partner Pokemon with a smile. "(That's right!)" Pikachu agreed sharing the same smile as Ash.

May had to admit she was a bit surprised by this, and she grabbed out the Pokeball that Torchic was inside. "I haven't gotten any complaints from Torchic yet." May said. She then realized something that hadn't crossed her mind until now. "Actually, now that I think about it, I barely know anything about Torchic." May added.

"So how about you look Torchic up in your Pokedex?" Ash suggested. May happily smiled and nodded in agreement at this idea, so she grabbed her Pokedex from out of her bag and opened it up, revealing a black screen and two buttons, a large green one on the bottom and a small red one on the top, to look up information on Torchic.

"All right, let's see. Torchic's a fire type and its moves are..." May started to read, but then Ash looked up and noticed something standing in their path.

"May, look at that!" Ash said. "What is it?" May asked, looking up with him. Standing on the path in front of them was a little blue ball-shaped Pokemon with small round white cheeks, big round ears and a long black tail that had a blue sphere on the end. "Wow, what's that?" May asked looking down at her Pokedex to find out what sort of Pokemon this was.

"Azurill, the Water Ball Pokemon. Azurill is able to throw its tail like a lasso using the momentum to move about." The Pokedex explained, with the voice sounding very feminine. Azurill slowly tilted its head to the side wondering what was going on. May immediately brightly smiled; this little one looked so adorable to her.

"Oh, it's so cute! I want it." May smiled, her excitement building up inside her as if she was a little child again. "So why don't you try and catch it?" Ash asked, noticing how excited May was by the sight of this little Azurill.

"All right then, I'll give it a shot!" May replied. With this, she grabbed a Pokeball out from her bag, while Ash watched on in surprise, and then she threw it straight towards Azurill. Ash stared in alarm: that wasn't the proper way to do it. The Pokeball bounced off Azurill's head and opened up, with Azurill going inside. After this, the Pokeball closed and dropped down on the ground starting to shake rapidly with its centre blinking red. "All right! I caught my first Pokemon!" May cheered, thrilled by her success. However, the Pokeball shook rapidly for a few seconds before it opened up again releasing Azurill. May stared in disbelief at this. "Hey! How come it didn't work?" she asked, not able to figure out why Azurill didn't go in.

"I was about to remind you, May. You need to battle the Pokemon first before you try to catch it." Ash explained: he had actually made the same mistake himself and he wanted to make sure that May didn't end up in the same position that he did.

"Oh, that's right. Thanks for reminding me. It's time for my first Pokemon battle!" May replied. She grabbed the Pokeball Torchic was in and threw it. "Let's go, Torchic!" May called. The Pokeball opened and Torchic came out, and then she jumped up into the air as if she was glad to be out of the Pokeball. As May was trying to remember what Torchic's attacks were since she was looking them up earlier, Azurill started to bounce away on its tail and Torchic gave chase. Coming to a tree, Azurill leapt away while Torchic ran into the tree.

"Torchic, are you okay?" May asked. Torchic jumped up on her feet, evidently unhurt by that head-first impact and quickly ran after Azurill as it bounced away using its tail to help it move faster. "Torchic, slow down! Wait for me!" May called as she and Ash quickly rushed after the two Pokemon.

Azurill bounced back and forth in between bushes while Torchic followed in hot pursuit. The two small Pokemon soon came to a small cliff face and Azurill stopped short before bouncing out of the way while Torchic ran head-first into it, leaving her eyes in the shape of swirls and bruises on her face. Since she and Ash now caught up, May bent down and picked up Torchic. "Torchic, don't do anything until I tell you to, okay?" May asked. Torchic looked up at May with her eyes having gone big and watering up, causing May to show an expression of worry. "Torchic, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" she asked, not wanting to see Torchic get upset.

"May, if you don't hurry, Azurill will get away!" Ash said. May then looked up to see Azurill standing there in front of a tree, having stopped bouncing around. Torchic then jumped out of May's arms and ran over, ready to actually start battling with this little runaway.

"All right. Torchic, use Peck!" May called: she was actually able to remember one of Torchic's moves before coming across Azurill. Torchic then leapt forward to start attacking, but Azurill jumped out of the way leaving Torchic to peck rapidly at the tree. "Torchic, Azurill's over there!" May said. Torchic turned her head to see Azurill bouncing away and quickly started to run after it. "Oh, not again. Torchic, come back!" May said as she and Ash gave chase after them. Azurill was hopping away while Torchic gave chase after it. Torchic then leapt out from behind a bush and shot out small blasts of fire from her beak, after which she could suddenly hear Azurill's cries from behind the bush up ahead. Torchic then happily smiled hearing this and ran over to find Azurill lying on the ground knocked out. As Torchic was looking at the downed Water Ball Pokemon, Ash and May both arrived and noticed this as well.

"May, now's your chance to catch Azurill." Ash said. Hearing this, May quickly grabbed out an empty Pokeball from her bag.

"Pokeball, go!" May yelled out before throwing it. The Pokeball bounced off Azurill's head and opened up, causing Azurill to go inside in a bright red light. After that, the Pokeball closed and dropped down on the ground shaking rapidly while its centre blinked red. Ash and May watched on anxiously while Torchic was just wondering what was going on. After a few seconds, the Pokeball stopped shaking and the centre stopped blinking: that meant that May's catch was successful. May stared in disbelief wondering if she was really seeing this while Ash brightly smiled, happy for May.

"May, you did it! You caught your first Pokemon!" Ash cheered. "(Great job!)" Pikachu added.

May slowly walked over and picked up the Pokeball, staring at it for a few moments still unable to register the fact that she actually succeeded in catching a Pokemon. "You're right..." she said to herself, realising that Ash wasn't kidding: she actually pulled it off. A little later, May opened the Pokeball to let Azurill out. Azurill bounced to look around for a few moments before she looked up at Ash and May. The little Pokemon and May stared at each other in silence, uncertain of what to do first.

"May, aren't you going to say hello?" Ash asked noticing May staring blankly at Azurill, which caused her to turned her glance to him. "Well, I would, but...I really don't have any idea on what to say. How am I supposed to talk to a Pokemon I just caught?" May asked in response.

"How about I give it a try first?" Ash suggested. With that he walked over to Azurill and bent down so he was close to her height while Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, and Azurill bounced in Ash's direction and looked up at him. "Hi there. Nice to meet you, Azurill." Ash said. Azurill then bounced backwards and started shaking in fear: it seemed that she was a bit frightened by Ash. Ash looked at Azurill in surprise before he gently smiled. "It's okay, Azurill. You don't need to be scared. I won't hurt you, I promise." Ash softly explained. Azurill hopped forward a little bit hearing Ash's words and, seeing that he didn't mean any harm to her, brightly smiled before bouncing over. "Now that's more like it. My name's Ash and this is my friend, Pikachu." Ash said, turning to Pikachu who happily ran over to meet Azurill.

"(Hey there, Azurill. My name's Pikachu.)" Pikachu said. "(Hi. It's nice to meet you.)" Azurill replied, her smile growing bigger now that she felt more relaxed and confident.

May was watching this all the while, and she had to admit that she was impressed by Ash's successful efforts of befriending the new arrival on the team. "Ash really knows what he's doing." she commented, and she couldn't help but wonder if Ash had done things like this before since he seemed to be fully aware of what he was doing. She then walked over to see Azurill and bent down so she was close to the little Pokemon's height. "Hi there, Azurill. I'm May." May said. Azurill looked up at May and then shot a small blast of water from her mouth at May's face. After Azurill stopped, May was soaked; this was now the second time that she had been hit by a water type attack. May immediately shook herself off and glared at Azurill. "What did you do that for?! I didn't ask you for an attack!" she snapped. Azurill jumped back from fright at May's outburst and then she looked down with tears building up in her eyes.

"May, you're scaring Azurill. I think it was just trying to say hello to you." Ash said. May's frown faded upon hearing this and then she looked back down at Azurill who was about ready to start crying. Realising that she shouldn't have responded that way, May showed a small smile and bent back down to Azurill's height. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, Azurill. It's just that I'm not very comfortable towards Pokemon at the moment, so I might take a while to get used to them. You're not upset at me, are you?" May asked, gently stroking Azurill's head to try and calm her down. Azurill happily smiled as if she was saying that she wasn't upset at May for her outburst and then happily jumped into May's arms. "Well, that's good to know. You need to go back into your Pokeball now." May commented as she grabbed Azurill's Pokeball out of her bag and held it up to put Azurill back in. But Azurill jumped out of May's arms and landed safely on the ground before starting to bounce off ahead. "Now what's gotten into you, Azurill?" May asked, placing her arms on her hips in puzzlement.

"I think Azurill wants to stay outside and be with you for a little." Ash suggested. Hearing that comment, May looked down at Azurill to figure out if that was true. Azurill happily smiled and nodded in agreement before bouncing up in the air a few times using her tail to help her. May lowered her head to think for a few moments before she smiled and nodded.

"Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with that. You can stay out for a little. Just make you stay with us, okay?" May asked, bending down to Azurill. Azurill happily smiled and nodded in agreement. Sometime later, Ash and May continued their way down the road with Azurill bouncing alongside them. The two looked down at the Water Ball Pokemon that was hopping beside them. "Azurill sure is cute, huh?" May asked.

"Yeah." Ash agreed nodding. He then turned his head to May and found that he wasn't able to take his eyes off her; he wasn't sure what it was or why he was acting like this, but it was as if she had caught his attention. After a few moments, May turned her head to Ash and happily smiled at him and he couldn't help smiling back. This was almost like what happened when they met on the route leading to Littleroot Town: it was only the two of them and no one was there to interrupt them. In fact, Ash didn't even notice Pikachu staring at the two with a smile on his face, like he was noticing that something was up as well. As the two brightly smiled at each other, Ash looked up to notice something up ahead and an expression of intrigue crossed his face. "Hey, look at that." Ash said. May looked up with him to see what it was: just up ahead of them was a pile of brick walls still standing surrounded by several stone pillars circled around them. "What do you think that is?" Ash asked as he and May stopped to look at the odd sight.

"It looks like it might be some old buildings." May replied. "(Yeah...)" Pikachu agreed nodding slowly; he hadn't seen something that looked this strange before. Though coming across odd discoveries seemed to be a thing for him and Ash, this discovery seemed to be something different.

"Well actually, these are the ruins of Oldale." Ash and May glanced up to see that a young man with short dark brown spiked hair wearing a yellow research outfit with a belt around the waist had walked over. "I'm Professor Alden, and I'm here investigating these ruins." The man explained.

"Hi, my name's Ash." Ash replied. "(I'm Pikachu, Ash's partner Pokemon.)" Pikachu said. "And I'm May. Nice to meet you." May added.

"It's nice to meet you two. Where are you off to?" Professor Alden asked. "We're looking for the Pokemon Centre." Ash replied. Professor Alden turned around and looked down where a hill was with a smile. "Well, you don't have too far to go. The Pokemon Centre's just over this hill." Professor Alden said. Ash and May both brightly smiled: that meant that they only had a short distance away.

"That's great. Thanks." Ash said. "Thank you." May added. With this, the two continued their way while Professor Alden watched on. Arriving at the bottom of the hill with evening slowly coming their way, Ash and May soon came to a big white building that had two stories with a big square on the top that had a big red P symbol that stood for Pokemon and there was also what looked like a plus sign on the top.

"So this is what a Pokemon Centre looks like?" May asked. "Yeah, this is the place. Trainers come here to rest as well as have their Pokemon treated while training. Come on, I'll show you inside." Ash responded, nodding in agreement. With this, he stepped inside with the automated door opening up and May followed behind him. A bright smile of surprise crossed May's face as she looked around: there were little round lights being held by long wires as well as potted plants placed around the walls. She then turned to notice someone at the front desk: it was a young woman with bright blue eyes and her red hair tied up in the shape of ringlets wearing a pink dress with a long white apron on top as well as small white shoes and a white nurse hat with a red symbol like on the front of the Pokemon Centre building.

"Ash, who's that at the desk?" May asked, tugging on one of Ash's sweatshirt sleeves to get his attention and pointing at the front desk. Ash turned to see who she was talking about and he brightly smiled before looking back at May. "That's Nurse Joy. She takes care of the Pokemon that are brought in here. And don't worry about charge costs: Nurse Joy's services are free, so Trainers can see her at anytime so she can look after their Pokemon." Ash explained. May sighed in relief: for a minute, she was scared that she would have to pay if she wanted to have her Pokemon treated.

Azurill, who had been looking around the inside intently, started bouncing up and down: she was feeling ready to do some bouncing around after standing still for so long. With this, using her tail to help her, she started hopping around the room while Ash and May turned to see this and stared in shock. "Azurill, stop that! You're going to break something!" May warned. Seeming to not pay any attention to her Trainer's words, Azurill happily bounced around the room fortunately avoiding the potted plants much to the two trainers' relief before hopping up onto the front desk surprising Nurse Joy.

"Oh! Why, hello little one. It's quite a surprise to see you." Nurse Joy commented, looking down at the little Water Ball Pokemon happily hopping up and down with a bright smile on her face. Azurill then turned around to Ash and May quickly coming over towards the front desk and May picked her up from the desk, and she looked down at Azurill with a frown on her desk.

"Azurill, don't do that. You could have knocked something over." May scolded. Azurill looked down sadly with her eyes growing bigger in size. May then looked up at Nurse Joy, her frown being replaced with an expression of concern. "I'm sorry about all of that, Nurse Joy. It's just that Azurill likes to bounce around everywhere." May explained, clearly hoping that Nurse Joy wasn't upset.

"It's all right. That just means that it's very active. You must take really good care of your Azurill." Nurse Joy replied. "Well, to be honest, I just caught this Azurill, so..." May commented showing a nervous smile while rubbing the back of her head with her spare hand. Ash couldn't help himself smiling as he watched this, and then he looked up at Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy, could you check to see how Pikachu is feeling?" Ash asked, taking Pikachu off his shoulder and placing him down on the front desk. "Certainly. Would you like to have your Pokemon taken care of too?" Nurse Joy asked, picking Pikachu up and then turning to May while asking that question. May looked down with uncertainty, so she turned to Ash to see him showing her a smile and, knowing that he knew what he was talking about, looking back at Nurse Joy and nodded before grabbing the Pokeballs that Torchic and Azurill were in out of her bag, returning Azurill into her Pokeball and handed them to Nurse Joy. Nurse Joy then placed the Pokeballs in two empty sockets in a machine behind her.

While Ash and May were both waiting patiently for their Pokemon, May turned to Ash: she still looked a little bit uncertain about all of this. "Ash, are you sure Nurse Joy knows what she's doing?" she asked, with an expression of concern on her face. Ash turned his gaze to May to see that she still looked a bit worried, and then he showed her a soft smile and turned to May. "May, I can safely assure you that you don't need to worry. Torchic and Azurill will both be safe in Nurse Joy's care: she has to take care of a lot of Pokemon that are injured, so I'm sure that everything will be all right." Ash explained. Hearing this, May's expression of concern faded being replaced with a smile and nodded; she knew that she could trust Ash. Sure enough, Nurse Joy turned to the two with May's Pokeballs and Pikachu.

"Here you are, you two. Your Pokemon are in perfect condition." Nurse Joy said. Pikachu happily jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and the two friends looked at each other. "That's great to hear, isn't it?" Ash asked. Pikachu immediately nodded in agreement.

May got both of her Pokeballs and threw them up in the air, causing them to open and release both Torchic and Azurill. "How are you two feeling?" May asked. "(I feel great!)" Torchic replied, jumping up into the air with a bright smile on her face. "(Me too. I don't think I've felt this good for a while.)" Azurill agreed. May brightly smiled hearing this from the two; she was glad to hear that they were in good condition, and that meant that Ash was right about Nurse Joy.

"I think a good night's sleep would do you two some good." Nurse Joy suggested. "Yeah." Ash and May agreed in unison. May turned her head to see that there was a small shelf of books beside her, so she walked over to see what there was and noticed that there was a guidebook of the Hoenn Region. May picked it up and flipped through the pages to see that there was information on each town and city of the region as well as places of interest. Figuring that maybe she might need it later, May opened up her bag and placed the guidebook in it. She then turned around and walked back over to Ash.

"Hey, Ash?" she asked. "Yeah, what's up?" Ash asked in response, turning to see May standing there behind him with both her hands behind her back like there was something she wanted to ask him. Sure enough, May did have a question for Ash.

"Well, I was thinking. Now that I'm in a Pokemon Centre, could you show me around?" May asked. "Yeah, of course. But I need to call to someone first before I do." Ash replied. Soon the two were at a row of computers that also had in-built phone systems to keep in touch with others. Ash was sitting in the seat with Pikachu on his lap while May stood beside him looking down at the screen.

"Hey, Professor Oak. I just now got into Oldale Town." Ash said. On the screen, Professor Oak was answering the call from his research lab back in Pallet Town all the way back in Kanto. "That's wonderful, Ash. It's always nice to hear from you." Professor Oak replied. May was watching the screen in surprise and then a bright smile crossed her face when she saw Professor Oak on the screen.

"I've just finished registering for the Hoenn League, so now I'm ready to go and get my first badge." Ash added. "It sounds to me like the start of another big adventure for you, young man." Professor Oak commented. "That's right!" May replied. Professor Oak's expression changed to surprise wondering who said that, so Ash got out of the seat while May hopped on so she could have her say.

"Hi there. We haven't been introduced yet, but my name's May. I'm travelling with Ash." May said. "Well, hello May! I'm Professor Oak from Pallet Town: it's nice to meet you." Professor Oak replied. May then leaned closer to the screen while Ash watched on in confusion.

"I know you. My brother never misses any of your radio lectures. And when he finds out that I got to talk you, he'll be extremely jealous!" May explained. She then showed a determined smile and added "Of course, I know that I'm only a beginning Trainer, but I promise that I'll work hard and do my best!" Ash couldn't help but smile hearing May's determination: it reminded him a lot of how he acted when he was starting his journey.

"Well, May, with Ash by your side I'm sure that you'll do very well." Professor Oak replied. May looked over at Ash showing her bright smile and he couldn't help himself smiling back. "And before I forget, there's someone who would like to see you, Ash." Professor Oak added. Ash sat back down on the seat upon hearing that. "Who's that?" he asked. His reply was given when the transfer machine behind him and May showed a Pokeball inside it. The two walked over at the machine and Ash picked the Pokeball up and threw it into the air, causing it to open and release a small Pokemon with light green skin, dark red eyes with small black marks underneath, a pointed head and a red shape on its belly with small black square marks around its body. The little Pokemon started looking around wondering it was, while Ash brightly smiled as he recognized who it was.

"Larvitar!" he said. Larvitar turned around wondering who said that and looked up to see Ash, to which it brightly smiled and started happily clapping before running over and jumping up into Ash's arms. "Hey, Larvitar. I didn't think I'd see you again." Ash commented standing up as he held the little Pokemon. Larvitar continued clapping clearly happy to be with Ash again. Staring at Larvitar in intrigue, May grabbed out her Pokedex to learn more.

"Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokemon. Larvitar generally hatch deep within the earth and take a long time before coming to the surface." The Pokedex explained. May then looked up at Larvitar sitting comfortably in Ash's arms and walked over to see it, to which it turned around to notice the brunette. "Hi there, Larvitar. My name's May." May said. Larvitar stared at May in silence for a few moments before freezing up much to May's surprise. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked wondering what had gotten into the Rock Skin Pokemon.

"Larvitar doesn't really like anyone but me, so it hardens up when it meets someone it doesn't know or meets for the first time." Ash explained. May couldn't help but show a small frown and cross her arms: that seemed a bit upsetting that Larvitar didn't take a likeness to anyone but Ash. "Larvitar, how come you're here?" Ash asked, suddenly realising that he didn't give it much thought until now.

"Well, not too long after you left, Larvitar started to miss you. So Ranger Mason decided to transport Larvitar here so it could see you." Professor Oak explained. Ash nearly jumped as one thought immediately crossed his mind. "Was Tyranitar okay with it? I mean, after going through all the trouble to bring Larvitar back, I don't think that Tyranitar would want Larvitar to leave again." Ash said.

"After Ranger Mason explained everything, Tyranitar understood that Larvitar was ready to go out on its own." Professor Oak replied. Ash smiled in relief at this and looked down at Larvitar. "Well, since you're here, would you like to come along with me on my adventure through Hoenn?" Ash asked. Larvitar smiled and immediately nodded, clearly excited about being able to travel with Ash again.

"I also wish you two a safe and successful journey." Professor Oak added. "Thanks!" Ash and May replied in unison. "(Thank you, Professor!)" Pikachu added with a bright smile on his face. With this the screen turned off and Ash turned to May, while she looked at him as well.

"So, May, should we get started on that Pokemon Centre tour?" Ash asked. May brightly smiled and nodded in agreement, so the two stood up, with Pikachu jumping back up onto Ash's shoulder, and started to walk down the hallway.

Meanwhile outside, the Rocket Trio had crammed themselves into a phone booth and were calling Giovanni to let him know where they were. "What? You're in the Hoenn Region?" Giovanni asked. Inside the phone booth, the Rocket Trio had managed to stuff inside: Jessie and James were on either side, Wobbuffet, who had _yet again_ come out when he wasn't needed, was standing in between them and Meowth had climbed up on top of him while James held the phone towards Meowth.

"That's right: still hot on the trail for that rare Pikachu so that one day that Pikachu will finally be all yours." Jessie replied. "And now that we've tracked them down, we're ever so close to the capture!" James added. "Cause when it comes to the honour of Team Rocket, there's nothing we wouldn't do for you." Meowth explained.

"Well, considering that you've taken the time to call me on my private line, I assume you have some good news, yes?" Giovanni asked. On their end of the line, the Rocket Trio started to look quite nervous.

"Well, the thing is..." Jessie started nervously. "Good detective work doesn't come cheaply, so our cash reserves are a bit low." James explained. "Could we... get an advance?" Meowth asked.

"No!" The Rocket Trio nearly jumped at the sudden harsh tone in that response. "You will not receive any more funds!" The Rocket Trio then sighed in dismay: that meant that they were going to be in some real trouble. "However, I do have an opportunity for you." Giovanni added, suddenly sounding less harsh.

"Opportunity?" The Rocket Trio asked in unison, their expressions changing to surprise at the mention of this. "Although Team Rocket are branched internationally, we haven't been able to set up operations in the Hoenn Region yet. So if you three are able to accomplish this, that's when we can talk money." Giovanni explained. After this, he hung up. Back on their end of the line, the Rocket Trio were starting to smile thrilled by what they were just told. "We're going to start a branch office?" they asked in unison.

"Oh, it's an order from the Boss himself to achieve true greatness!" Jessie smiled, her eyes going wide from excitement. "He's practically saying that we're next in line to take over Team Rocket!" James added. "All those harsh long years of struggling were worth it because..." Meowth said. The three then cheered and said "We got a promotion!" Wobbuffet then popped up in front of them and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

Back inside the Pokemon Centre, Ash opened a door to show May what looked like a bedroom. "This room is where the Trainers sleep." Ash explained. May looked inside to see that there were two bunkbeds on either side of the room, a bedside table in the middle of the room between the beds with a small lamp on it and a window on the wall so they could see outside.

"Wow. It doesn't look too shabby." May commented. The two then came out to a larger area of the Pokemon Centre where they could see a group of Trainers on the seats talking to each other. "This area is the Lobby. Here, the Trainers who stay here meet up to share information." Ash explained.

"Really? You mean like where the malls are and the best places to eat and the best clothing shops and things like that?" May asked with a bright smile immediately crossing her face. Ash smiled nervously hearing May's near-endless question. "Well, not exactly. They're all talking about Pokemon and things like that." Ash replied.

"I've heard that there's a new Gym Leader at the Petalburg Gym." Hearing that voice, Ash and May both turned their heads to see that it was from a young man talking to a woman around his age sitting beside him. "Are you sure?" The woman asked. Ash then smiled in excitement and immediately ran over to find out about this while May watched him in surprise.

"Excuse me. Could you tell me who the new Gym Leader is?" Ash asked. May nearly jumped as she listened to this, so she immediately scattered over and grabbed Ash's hand pulling him back towards her showing a nervous smile. "May, what are you doing?! I'm trying to find something out!" Ash said, staring at May with some annoyance.

"Can't you tell that I'm starving? Let's go get something to eat." May suggested. Ash was still a bit puzzled, but regardless he nodded in agreement. So the two headed off to the tables to have some dinner. Once they got to a safe enough distance from the lobby, May quietly sighed in relief: if Ash found out who the Gym Leader was, she could probably get in big trouble. Soon the two were sitting at a table with their Pokemon eating dinner: Ash and May both had rice curries, Pikachu was sitting beside Ash with a bottle of ketchup and Torchic, Azurill and Larvitar were beside the table munching on bowls full of Pokemon food.

"You know, these Pokemon Centres are great. They have everything you could ever need in one place!" May commented with her mouth full of rice curry. "Well, don't forget that they're here for the Trainers so they can rest in between heavy training." Ash replied.

"But you're getting ready for heavy training and I'm training as well, right?" May asked. "Well, when you put it that way..." Ash replied, nodding in agreement.

"The two weary travellers. Glad you made it safely." Someone coming up to see them holding a tray with his own food on it said. Ash and May both looked up to see that it was Professor Alden.

A few miles outside of the Pokemon Centre, a large hole was being dug in the ground: the Rocket Trio was inside digging a tunnel. Holding a bucket, Wobbuffet was scooping up piles of dirt and throwing them over his shoulder outside the hole. James and Meowth were both being distracted by the scent of food coming from inside the building. "Something smells really good." Meowth commented. "Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread-sticks on the side." James added, being able to recognise what the food was.

"Snap out of it!" The two then opened their eyes, clearly brought out of their own thoughts, and looked to find that Jessie was the one who said that: she was busy digging with her own shovel. "Work on being a good thief, not a restaurant critic." Jessie suggested.

"Oh, right. Thanks." James replied. "As soon as we set up a Team Rocket shop in the Hoenn Region, we're number one!" Meowth said. James then remembered something that had crossed his mind and then turned to Meowth.

"But since we're the only members of Team Rocket in Hoenn, we already are number one, aren't we?" James asked. "Sweet thinking, James!" Meowth commented, a bright smile on his face while James showed an equally bright smile clearly thrilled by what he just realised.

"If you two lazy good-for-nothings take that sort of attitude, Butch and Cassidy will just slide on in and take over!" Jessie retorted, prompting both James and Meowth to turn to her. Butch and Cassidy were both members of Team Rocket as well, but the Rocket Trio saw them as a hurdle to overcome in their plans, especially since they had run into the two a few times before in both Kanto and the Orange Islands.

"Jessie's right. Those no-good crooks." Meowth agreed. "Jessie dear, you're so good with those morale pep talks." James commented. Jessie stared at James in surprise at the compliment, before she smiled and nodded in agreement. With this, the Rocket Trio resumed their digging, singing to motivate themselves while Wobbuffet was dancing behind them.

Meanwhile, Ash and May were with Professor Alden in one of the back rooms which he had made to be his research lab and Ash was looking at a picture of the ruins he and May saw earlier up on the wall. "Professor, are those the same ruins we saw when we were up on that hill?" Ash asked, just to be certain that he was right.

"Yes, they are. And lucky for me, the Pokemon Centre has been generous enough to give me the usage of this room while I continue my research on those ruins. You know, there's a stone chamber within the ruins and legend has it that it's a sort of bridge between our world and the ancient Pokemon world." Professor Alden explained.

"Wow..." May whispered: she found that she was surprisingly awestruck by all of this information. "But because of its strange construction, any attempts to enter the chamber have caused it to begin to crumble. So the contents of the chamber remain unknown." Professor Alden added. Ash had turned his attention back to the picture of the ruins, so he looked over at Professor Alden.

"What do you mean by ancient Pokemon?" Ash asked. "(Yeah, what does that mean?)" Pikachu agreed, being held in Ash's arms all the while.

"Well, I'm not talking about extinct fossil Pokemon like Aerodactyl and Kabuto. I'm talking about ancient Pokemon that have been living since ancient times without changing at all." Professor Alden replied.

"Wow, how cool is that?" Ash commented. "Most of the details about ancient Pokemon such as where they lived and how they lived are still a mystery to the world. I guess it's all that mystery that makes it so fascinating." Professor Alden explained.

"There might be more to Pokemon that I thought." May commented: she was genuinely interested in everything that she was hearing, and she found that she actually liked it. Ash looked back at the picture of the ruins while May looked at it with him. "Ancient Pokemon... Can you imagine how great it would be if we could actually meet one?" Ash asked, turning his gaze to May. May found that she was actually nodding in agreement: here she was saying that she wasn't fond of Pokemon, yet she was now so drawn into the fascination of Pokemon like that existing.

"You might just get your chance, you two." Professor Alden said. Ash and May both turned to him, wondering what he was talking about. "The way to enter the chamber is written on this tablet." Professor Alden explained, showing the two a brown tablet with some unintelligible writing on it as well as what looked like a carving of the ruins on the top.

"No way!" Ash gasped, a bright smile immediately crossing his and May's faces. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" May said.

"Well, there are four keys to enter that haven't been found yet. So we'll have to wait just a little bit longer." Professor Alden replied. Little did the group realise that they were being watched: just outside spying on them from a bush were a group wearing red outfits that had a big M symbol on them.

"I hope we find those four keys soon." Ash commented. The sooner they found those keys, the sooner they could enter the ruins. Just then, the lights went out much to the group's surprise as they looked up at the now gone out lights. "What happened? Are we having a blackout?" May asked. The three then looked to see a group of who looked like thugs wearing red outfits with Houndoom wearing gold armour.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Alden asked. The Houndoom were growling while the thugs stood there with sinister smiles.

"Who are those guys?" May asked, her expression of confusion immediately changing to worry. Without any hesitance, Ash stepped in front of May and spread one arm out in front of her: he wanted to make sure she was safe in case these guys had any business with them.

"Professor Alden, we would like you to accompany us on a little journey to the Oldale Ruins." One of the thugs, a male, explained. "I will not!" Professor Alden retorted. Ash stood there with a determined expression, with his arm still out in front of May to protect her. Just then, the group could see Nurse Joy come over holding a flashlight.

"I'm sorry, Professor Alden. When the power went out..." Before Nurse Joy could continue her sentence, she gasped in surprise to see the group of thugs and was about to run when another thug came from behind her and grabbed her by the arm to hold her back.

"Well now, Professor. Would you like to change your mind?" The thug, clearly the leader of the group, asked. Professor Alden was hesitant for a few moments before he replied "All right. I'll go with you, then."

A little later, Ash, May and Nurse Joy were thrown into a storage room. "Hey, let us out of here!" Ash yelled, pounding on the door even though it was locked from the outside which meant that they couldn't get out. "What do you think they want?" May asked standing up on her feet after being thrown in like that.

"To get inside the chamber, I'll bet." Nurse Joy replied. "Nurse Joy, do you know those people?" Ash asked, turning to her.

"No, I don't. But I'm sure that they're the ones who caused that blackout by cutting off the power here." Nurse Joy responded. Upon hearing her words, she then gasped at what this meant. "And that means that all of the Pokemon being treated here are in danger!" she added.

"Well, what are we going to do?" May asked. "We'll have to turn on the reserve power right away." Nurse Joy said. "We need to figure out how to get out of here first." Ash added.

"(Ash!)" Ash, May and Nurse Joy turned to see that Pikachu was pointing to an air shaft that had a cover on it. "(We can go through this way.)" Pikachu explained. It quickly made sense to Ash: if they went through the air shaft, they could head back to the front desk and turn on the reserve power.

"Pikachu, that's great!" Ash smiled. Pikachu showed a happy smile, glad that he could help out his friend.

Outside, the Rocket Trio poked their heads out from their finished tunnel. "Tunnel complete!" They cheered... only to realise that they had surfaced just a few centimetres outside of the Pokemon Centre. "Okay, so I was off by a smidge." Meowth commented. Hearing growling, the Rocket Trio turned their heads to see the group of thugs with their Houndoom out and Professor Alden in custody.

"Would you mind telling me what you're doing here?" The leader of the group asked. The Rocket Trio then smiled, clearly not intimidated by this group that they had never seen before.

"We're doing whatever we want to do." Jessie replied. "You're looking at this region's top Team Rocketeers!" James added. "Prepare for trouble and make it double and all that jazz!" Meowth finished.

With this, Jessie and James sent out their powerhouses that they had since Kanto: Arbok and Weezing. However, the Houndoom suddenly barking frightened the two so much that they returned themselves into their Pokeballs. Jessie and James both stared at their Pokeballs wondering what had gotten into them, until they looked up to see how threatening the Houndoom actually looked. The Rocket Trio stepped back in fear and then immediately jumped back into the hole they dug. "We…must have taken a wrong turn." Jessie commented. "Sorry for the confusion, boys." James added. "Bye now!" Meowth said before the Rocket Trio headed down into the tunnel going back the way they came.

Back inside the Pokemon Centre at the storage room, Nurse Joy was waiting anxiously: Ash had already gone into the air shaft with Pikachu following beside him. As Ash was crawling through the small tunnel, he suddenly heard someone call behind him. "Ash, slow down." Ash turned his head to notice that May was following right behind him.

"May, why are you coming?" Ash asked. "Why would I miss out?" May asked in response. Ash was silent before he figured to let May come along: he could use her help right now. The two continued their way through the air shaft until they came to a splitting tunnel leading two ways.

"Now which way do we go?" Ash asked as he and May looked down both routes, uncertain of which way to take. Pikachu's ears started to twitch and he pointed down the left route. He then ran off ahead and, after stopping to look around, pointed to the left again. "(Guys, this way!)" Pikachu called, happily smiling as he figured out their route. Ash and May both crawled over and bright smiles immediately crossed their faces when they saw that the way out just up ahead.

"There's the exit!" Ash noticed. "Wow. Pikachu is pretty smart." May commented.

Ash then busted the front grate off and he, Pikachu and May crawled out of the air shaft now at the front entrance. Ash reached behind the front desk to grab a key while May went to turn the reserve power on. "Here's the Master Key Nurse Joy was talking about." Ash said. Just then, he looked up to see that the lights had come back on and he turned to see May run over to the desk.

"The reserve power's on." May confirmed. "That's great. Thanks, May." Ash replied. The two then ran to the storage room to open the door and get Nurse Joy out. "Will you be okay, Nurse Joy?" Ask asked.

"Yes, I will." Nurse Joy replied. "Great. We're going to go help Professor Alden." Ash said. With this, he and May quickly rushed out of the Pokemon Centre to make their way to the Oldale Ruins where they were certain Professor Alden was taken.

Sure enough at the Oldale Ruins, the group of thugs had arrived with Professor Alden. "What is the meaning of this? Why did you bring me here?" Professor Alden asked. "Why do you think? We brought you here so you could help us get access to the stone chamber." The leader of the group responded. Professor Alden turned to see the entrance of the chamber behind him and then he looked back at the leader.

"If we try to force our way in, the chamber will collapse." Professor Alden said. "But you yourself said that the way in is written on this little tablet, is that right, Professor?" The leader asked, holding up the stone tablet that Professor Alden was holding earlier.

"That's true, but I also said that I need to have the four treasures as keys." Professor Alden replied. With this, another member of the group showed a small case of four stones of different colours inside: one green, one yellow, one red and one blue. "What?! Where did you get them?" Professor Alden asked, reasonably shocked by the fact that the keys were here.

"You see, we have friends in high places. The only thing left to do is find out which key goes in which hole and you will help us with that." The group leader explained. "I will not!" Professor Alden retorted.

"We won't let you get into the chamber!" Hearing that voice, Professor Alden and the group of thugs turned to see Ash and May running over, with Pikachu sitting on Ash's shoulder like always: Ash was the one who yelled that out as they got closer to the ruins.

"Don't worry, Professor Alden! We're on our way!" Ash called. "You guys better let him go or you'll be sorry!" May warned. The two then stopped running as they approached the group of thugs.

"Do you two kids really think you can stop us?" The leader asked. After a few moments to catch his breath, Ash looked up with an expression of determination on his face.

"We aren't just kids. We're Pokemon Trainers. And we won't be afraid to let you know where you stand, especially when you try to get away with things like this. We'll stop you from getting into that chamber ourselves!" Ash called, pointing to the thugs with complete fearlessness. "(That's right! You'll regret messing with us!)" Pikachu agreed showing the same determination as Ash. May stared at Ash with a loss of words: she was immensely impressed by just how unafraid of these guys Ash was. She then turned to the thugs, figuring that maybe she should say something as well. "To be honest, I may only just be starting as a Trainer, but I won't be afraid to take you on if I have to!" May yelled out.

"Well then, let's see what you've got." The leader replied. With this, two of the members threw their Pokeballs out, causing them to open and release the Houndooms wearing golden armour that were out in the Pokemon Centre.

"You ready, Pikachu? Let's go!" Ash said, turning to his partner. Pikachu nodded in agreement and he immediately jumped off Ash's shoulder landing safely on the ground. Ash then turned to May noticing that she wasn't certain on who to send out. "May, get Azurill out here. Since Houndoom are part fire type, Water Gun will be effective against them." Ash suggested.

"Okay." May replied nodding. With this, she grabbed the Pokeball that had Azurill in it out of her bag. "Azurill, I choose you!" May called as she threw the Pokeball. It opened and released Azurill showing a bright smile, who bounced on the ground once and landed beside Pikachu ready for her first battle.

"You have those little Pokemon? Do you really believe they would stand a chance?" The group leader asked. Pikachu glared at the Houndoom with his cheeks sparking with electricity while Azurill showed a determined expression: she had a lot more power underneath her adorable exterior.

"Well, you're clearly underestimating how strong our Pokemon can be. Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash replied. Pikachu then charged forward towards one of the Houndoom, jumping out of the way of a strong blast of fire sent in his direction from the Houndoom's mouth, and slammed into the Houndoom sending it stumbling backwards. May watched on in silence for a few seconds before she registered that she should actually do something as well.

"All right, guess it's my turn. Azurill, use Water Gun!" May called. Azurill bounced forward and shot out a strong blast of water from her mouth at the other Houndoom, completely soaking it and causing it to stare in disbelief. May then brightly smiled seeing that she was actually being successful at a battle. "All right! This is actually better than I thought it would be!" she cheered. Azurill bounced up in the air, thrilled that she was battling successfully.

Not too far away hiding behind a toppled over pillar, the Rocket Trio were watching this scene on after going back through their tunnel. "Are you seeing this?" Jessie asked. "Crystal clear, dear." James replied. Meowth turned his gaze and he immediately smiled when he noticed something of his interest.

"Hey, check that out!" Meowth said, pointing in the direction he was looking in. Jessie and James both turned to see what he found and noticed the case with the four treasures inside. The three then started to smile sneakily, knowing what exactly they would do.

Back on the battle scene, Ash and May were both busy taking on the group of thugs. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu jumped up in the air and released a strong bolt of electricity at the Houndoom. Unfortunately, the armour they were wearing reflected the electricity causing the bolts to fly all over the place. "Look out, you two!" Ash warned. Pikachu's eyes went wide in panic and he quickly started to run out of the way as the bolts struck the ground while Azurill bounced out of the way.

"Azurill, be careful! You could get electrocuted!" May called. Just then, she and Ash looked up to see a helicopter slowly descend onto the ground. The thugs turned to notice and the leader of the group turned to the others.

"We no longer have business here. Let's pull out." The leader said. The group nodded in agreement and then they turned and started to climb on board the helicopter. As the leader climbed on, he turned to Ash and May who were wondering what was going on. "This won't be the last time you see us. Team Magma will achieve their plans, one way or another." The leader explained, before closing the door and the helicopter lifted up into the air before flying away. Ash and May watched before they looked down to see Professor Alden watching the helicopter leave and ran over to him.

"Professor!" Ash called. Professor Alden turned to see Ash and May and brightly smiled. "Are you okay?" May asked, with an expression of concern.

"Yeah, I'm just fine." Professor Alden replied. Ash and May both smiled in relief at this, and then Ash looked up at the direction the helicopter went. "Who were those guys? They said their name was Team Magma..." Ash said to himself. He then decided not to let it bother him and turned to May. "May, I've got to say that for your first battle, that was actually pretty impressive. We sure managed to teach those guys a lesson." Ash commented. Pikachu happily nodded in agreement.

"Wow, you think so? Thanks." May replied, looking down shyly with a bright smile. Meanwhile, the Rocket Trio poked their heads out from their hiding place: while everyone's backs were turned during the battle, they had managed to sneak over and grab the four treasures for themselves. "Just look what the Meowth dragged in: four shiny new treasures!" Meowth commented.

Wobbuffet suddenly popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" a little too loudly for his own good. Ash, May and Professor Alden turned their heads to see the Rocket Trio while they were busy trying to get Wobbuffet to keep his mouth shut. "You guys?" Ash asked, reasonably surprised to see them since they weren't anywhere in sight until now.

"Hey! You give back those treasures!" Professor Alden yelled. In response, Jessie grabbed out a Pokeball and threw it, causing it to open and release Arbok. May then stepped forward much to Ash's surprise: she figured she could give this a shot.

"I'll take care of this. Azurill, use Water Gun!" May said. Azurill shot a strong blast of water from her mouth straight at Arbok, sending Arbok flying backwards and slamming into the Rocket Trio causing them to drop the treasures which landed on the ground. Seeing that they were now distracted, Ash then decided to step in.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity, shocking the Rocket Trio and sending them flying into the night sky. Once they were gone, Ash turned to May. "May, I didn't expect you to step in. That was pretty good." he commented. May brightly smiled while her cheeks started to glow red.

Professor Alden bent down and picked up the four treasures, after which he looked up at the two. "So, are you two ready to enter the chamber?" he asked. Ash and May both nodded in agreement: that was what they were looking forward to since they learnt about them. With this, the three walked over to the door where Professor Alden placed the treasures in the right holes. After a few seconds, the treasures started to glow brightly in their certain colour and the door slowly moving forward revealing the chamber. Ash, May and Professor Alden stepped inside and looked around in awe: all around them, the walls were covered in unintelligible writing as well as carved pictures of various fossil Pokemon like Kabuto and Kabutops.

"Wow...this looks amazing!" May gasped as the three looked around the room. "Yeah. These panels depict ancient people and Pokemon living together." Professor Alden agreed, slowly nodding. As the three were taking a look at the various writings and pictures, May noticed that there was the door in the centre of the room. Her curiosity peaking, May ran over and had a look at the door and she noticed that it seemed to be covering something.

"Guys, look at this!" May said getting Ash and Professor Alden's attention. The two ran over to where May was to see what she found. "It's the door that led into the chamber. But it looks like there might be another hidden room in here: it looks like it might be shown if the four treasures are placed in the slots." May explained. Hearing that suggestion, Professor Alden placed the four treasures in the slots. Just then, the group could see sunlight coming into the chamber and they turned to see that the sun was rising over the horizon. "It's morning already?" May asked.

"I guess so. We were so caught up in everything that we didn't notice how fast time went by." Ash commented. Just then, the four treasures started to glow bright white sending the white lights streaking through the lines across the walls while Ash, May and Professor Alden watched on in surprise. As the white light streaked everywhere, the door slowly moved to reveal a staircase leading down into a hidden area.

"Well, let's take a look." Professor Alden said before heading down the staircase. Ash started to follow, but he stopped and turned to see that May wasn't following them. "Aren't you coming too, May?" he asked.

"I would, but..." May looked down at where the staircase was leading before taking a step back with worry. "Not knowing what's down there makes me feel a bit nervous."

Ash showed a soft smile before he stepped forward and offered May his hand. "That's okay. You can stay beside me if that helps you feel better." Ash said. May stared at Ash's hand in silence for a few moments before she smiled and took her hand in his. The two then headed down the staircase together and found that they were in what looked like a hidden cave with a large pool of water in the centre. "It's an enormous underground water supply!" Professor Alden noticed.

"It smells so fresh and clean." May commented. "You're right." Ash agreed. As the three looked down at the large water area wondering what was in there, a large fish-like Pokemon with a brown skin colour as well as grey spots on its skin and long fins on its body leapt out of the water much to the group's shock before landing back in with a large splash.

"It's the ancient Pokemon, Relicanth!" Professor Alden gasped in amazement. "That's an ancient Pokemon?" Ash asked while he and May were still staring in awe.

"It's true: these ruins are a portal between the present and the past." Professor Alden said. Ash and May both brightly smiled and then turned to each other.

"Ash, this is amazing. We discovered the secret of the Oldale Ruins! And it's even more impressive that I thought it would be." May cheered. Ash happily nodded in agreement with her. All the while, the two didn't notice that they were still holding hands, but they didn't seem to care.

Sometime later, Ash and May arrived back at the Pokemon Centre. "Nurse Joy, were you able to find out anything else about those crooks?" Ash asked.

"Officer Jenny is doing everything she can, but so far, no clues." Nurse Joy replied. "Well, that's too bad." May commented looking down in dismay. Ash then decided it would be best not to think about it for the moment and focus on other things.

"I guess it's time to head over to Petalburg City, right?" he asked. "(That's right!)" Pikachu agreed: they had their first Gym Badge to win.

"Ash!" Ash and May turned their heads to see Professor Alden run over to see them. "Leaving so soon?" Professor Alden asked. Ash and May both nodded in agreement. "Guess what? I've been doing a little more research over at the stone chamber, and every indication so far has lead to ancient Pokemon and man living peacefully." Professor Alden explained.

"Wow, that's great!" Ash smiled. "You've learnt so much about all of this, and so quickly too." May commented. Professor Alden nodded in agreement.

"I can hardly stop working, even to sleep! There are so many undiscovered secrets in the world of Pokemon." Professor Alden explained. May was listening intently: she couldn't agree more with him.

A little later, Ash and May were off continuing their way to Petalburg City. "Hey, I forgot! I never got to find out who the new Petalburg Gym Leader was." Ash said. May turned to Ash hearing this, and then she turned away with a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, I wouldn't really know about that." May replied. Ash turned his gaze to May wondering if she knew who the Gym Leader was, but wasn't telling him, but he decided not to ask her about it.

"I'm going for my first Hoenn Gym battle, and that first badge will be mine!" Ash announced. "(You know it!)" Pikachu agreed. Ash and May were now well on their way to Petalburg for Ash's first gym battle.

Meanwhile, all the way back at Littleroot Town, a ferry was pulling up at port. The two getting off the ferry were a seventeen year-old woman with bright blue eyes and orange hair tied up pointing upwards on the side of her head wearing a small yellow t-shirt with a blue button on the front with a dark red t-shirt underneath with matching yellow shorts, dark yellow shoes with an orange stripe on them, a red bag with a blue handle over her shoulder and holding a Togepi in her arms, and a twenty year-old man with light brown skin and dark brown spiked hair wearing a brown short-sleeved zipped vest with a green t-shirt underneath, grey tracksuit pants and dark blue sneakers with a white stripe on the front and a large bag with two handles on his back: they were Brock Harrison and Misty Waterflower.

"Well, we're finally here. This is Littleroot Town." Brock commented as he and Misty looked around at their destination.

"Yeah, this is it. And this is the start of a new adventure...just as soon as we catch up with Ash!" Misty said with Togepi happily chirping in her arms. With this, the two started to rush off: they had to catch up with Ash as soon as possible and there was little time to waste.


	3. Destination 102

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 3: Destination 102**

Ash and May were continuing their trek on the path leading to Petalburg City where Ash was going for his first Gym Badge in Hoenn. As the two were walking, they glanced up to see that there was a white sign beside the path with the words 'Route 102' printed on it in blue paint. "Guess we must be headed in the right direction: it shouldn't be too long until we get to Petalburg City. You ready for that first Gym battle, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning to his partner on his shoulder. "(I sure am!)" Pikachu replied with a bright smile; he had just as much anticipation to get that first Gym Badge as Ash did. Ash then started to continue off ahead while May was still staring up at the sign: the route they were on was undoubtedly the route to Petalburg City, and that meant that Ash was soon going to find out who the Gym Leader was. She then looked away to find that Ash had already gone off ahead, so she immediately rushed forward to catch up with him.

"Hey Ash, hold on a second!" May called. Ash stopped in his tracks and turned around to see May stop short having just caught up with him. "May, what's up? How come you were just standing there?" Ash asked. May bent down, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath before she looked up at Ash and stood upright.

"Well, I was just wondering. You're heading for the Gym battle, right?" May asked. Ash nodded in agreement with an expression of puzzlement on his face, like he was wondering what May was getting at. "Well, don't you think it would be a good idea to really make sure that your Pokemon are ready for the battle? You wouldn't want to be caught off guard when you get out there, right?" May suggested. Ash stared in silence for a few moments trying to figure out what May was saying, before he smiled as it made sense to him.

"You mean as in training?" he asked. May promptly nodded in agreement. "May, that's a great idea! Then we'll both ready when we arrive in Petalburg City. Good thing you thought of it." Ash commented, showing May a thumbs-up. May brightly smiled and nodded once: she was glad that she thought of it as well.

Meanwhile back on Route 101, Brock and Misty were on their way to Oldale Town, as well as trying to catch up with Ash: considering that he had arrived a day earlier than them, they were certain that he was already well on his way to Petalburg City. As the two were heading down the path, Misty was looking around their surroundings in awe. "Wow, look at all of this! It feels so much like Viridian Forest, except with less trees and I don't have to worry about running into any bug Pokemon. Those things just creep me out!" Misty commented, as she then looked down with an expression of fear replacing her smile while she was mentioning bug types, and then she shivered while holding Togepi tighter in her arms while making sure not to squeeze her by mistake.

"And we don't have to worry about getting lost either. It's just one straight path to Oldale Town." Brock added. Misty turned to Brock and nodded in agreement: that was true as well. Once they made it through Oldale Town, they'd be well on their way to Petalburg City. "Where do you think Ash would be right now?" Brock asked.

"Oh, knowing him, he's probably already at Petalburg City right now. He's always been in a rush to get to any important destination, so I'm sure that some things would never change when it comes to him." Misty replied, shrugging with one arm while continuing to hold Togepi with her spare arm. Togepi then happily chirped in Misty's arms having been listening all the while.

"I don't know, Misty. I'm sure Ash would start to learn from his past mistakes, so I think he'd be taking it slow right now." Brock said. Misty let out a small sigh and slowly shook her head: to her, that seemed very unlikely knowing what Ash was like.

Back with Ash and May, they were both sending out the Pokemon they had. "Larvitar, come on out!" Ash said, throwing out the Pokeball Larvitar was in, causing it to open and release the little Rock Skin Pokemon, with him happily flailing his arms around with a big smile on his face.

"Torchic, Azurill, let's go!" May added, throwing both Pokeballs with her Pokemon inside into the air, causing them to both open and release Torchic and Azurill who landed safely on the ground beside Larvitar. Torchic rapidly shook her feathers and then opened her eyes, while Azurill bounced up once into the air and then dropped on the ground. Pikachu then jumped off Ash's shoulder and stood beside the others. Once they knew all their Pokemon were out and showing their undivided attention, Ash and May bent down to their height.

"All right, everyone, we're almost at Petalburg City. But first we're going to do some training so we'll be ready for that first Gym battle. So let's give it everything we've got!" Ash explained. The group of Pokemon started to cheer, with Pikachu lifting both his fists up in the air in excitement, Larvitar happily clapping before his smile was replaced with an expression of confusion and he tilted his head wondering what was happening and Torchic and Azurill jumping up into the air with bright smiles on their faces. Seeing that everyone was ready to start training, Ash and May stood up properly and turned to each other. "So, May, how do you think we should do this training?" Ash asked.

May looked down to think pressing one finger under her chin. After about a few seconds to give it some thought, May immediately snapped her fingers as a bright smile crossed her face. "I know! How about we split up?" she suggested. She then pointed to the left of them. "You can go that way, and I'll head down this way." May explained as she then pointed to her right showing Ash which direction they would go: he would go to the left while she went to the right. Ash had a look in both directions May was pointing to and then turned to her with an expression of concern on his face.

"Are you sure? Will you be all right by yourself?" Ash asked: since he knew that this would be the first time May was training, he wasn't sure of whether or not she would be okay doing this on her own. May didn't seem to be as worried about her arrangement, as she happily nodded with a confident smile on her face. "Yeah, don't worry! I'll be fine. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have any Pokemon at my side, would I?" May asked in response. That seemed to be a reasonable enough answer for Ash as his concerned expression was replaced with a smile and he then nodded: it seemed that he now agreed with May's suggestion.

"All right then. I guess that's not a problem if you think it isn't. We'll meet back here in a few hours, okay?" Ash asked. May promptly nodded in agreement: that sounded good to her. With this, Ash looked down at both Pikachu and Larvitar. "All right, let's go, you two!" Ash said. Pikachu and Larvitar both nodded and Ash started to head off to the left with his two Pokemon following not too far behind. Once he was out of her clear vision, May looked down at both her Pokemon.

"Well, guess it's just us. Torchic, Azurill, follow me!" May said. She then stood upright and started to rush off into the forest with Torchic and Azurill following right behind her. Once they got to a good enough distance, May stopped running and starting looking around the trees to see if she could find any Pokemon in the area. "Now let's see. What kinds of Pokemon would I be able to find around here?" May wondered as she pressed her finger underneath her chin as she was trying to think. Torchic turned her gaze to a tree beside her and, getting an idea, ran over to it. She looked up at the tree in silence for a few moments and then, with her beak glowing bright white, she started rapidly pecking against the bark. Azurill bounced over to see what her fellow Pokemon was doing and then May turned her head to notice this.

"Torchic, what are you doing?" May asked. She then glanced up to see the leaves on one of the branches up near the top of the tree starting to shake. Torchic stopped pecking against the tree and then she looked up with a bright smile noticing that her attempt at finding a Pokemon seemed to be successful. Up on the tree, the leaves continued shaking for a few moments before a little worm-like Pokemon crawled out onto the branch: it had bright scarlet red skin with a cream coloured underbelly, a little yellow spike on the top of its head, yellow eyes with big black pupils, ten little stubby white legs and two yellow spines at the end of its body. "What sort of Pokemon is that?" May asked with an expression of surprise on her face. She grabbed her Pokedex out of her bag and opened it to find out what Pokemon she found.

"Wurmple, the Worm Pokemon. Wurmple primarily lives off sap from trees, and the suction cups on its feet keep it from slipping." The Pokedex explained. May stared at the information in fascination and then she looked back up at the tree to watch Wurmple slowly turn around, crawl across the tree branch and start munching on the leaves from the branch. May was silent for a few seconds as she, Torchic and Azurill stared up at the little worm Pokemon before she smiled and nodded with a determined expression on her face, coming to a decision. "I'll try and catch that Wurmple!" she stated. With this, she walked over to the tree, grabbed hold of it and slowly started to make her way up trying to get up to that Wurmple.

Meanwhile, Ash had arrived out to his area of the forest with Pikachu and Larvitar right beside him and he turned to his two Pokemon. "Well, this looks like a good place to get started on training. Pikachu, you go and see if there's any Pokemon around here we can battle." Ash said, looking down at the Electric Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu nodded in agreement and started to scout off ahead while Ash turned his gaze to Larvitar, and then he knelt down so he was close to the little Pokemon's height. "Larvitar, you can just watch this time around. I know that battling might worry you, so I don't want you to get involved in something you don't want to do. Does that sound good to you?" Ash asked, rubbing the Rock Skin Pokemon's head. Larvitar brightly smiled and nodded in agreement: he was glad to hear that Ash understood how he was feeling. Ash showed a bright smile in return, happy to see that Larvitar was okay with that idea.

He then looked up in the direction May went off in, and an expression of concern quickly crossed his face. "I wonder if May will be all right by herself." Ash commented to himself: he knew that May was just starting on her adventure as a Trainer and, as much as he wouldn't admit it out loud, he didn't want to her to do anything that could get her hurt. Ash suddenly felt a bright smile cross his face at the mention of May's name and he had to wonder: what was it about May that made him feel so happy inside?

"(Ash!)" Ash's thoughts were promptly interrupted when he heard Pikachu calling his name and he ran over, with Larvitar following, to see Pikachu standing at a tree he had come towards and he was excitedly pointing at it with a big smile on his face. "(I think there might be some Pokemon hiding in these trees!)" Pikachu explained. Ash looked up at the tree Pikachu was pointing at and, after about a few seconds to think it over, smiled and nodded in confirmation.

"Well, let's see what we find. Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called. With this, Pikachu charged towards the tree at full speed and rammed straight against the bark. After a few seconds, the leaves on the top of the tree started to rapidly shake and Ash and Pikachu both showed a big smile, thrilled by this. "All right! I think we found something!" Ash cheered, while Pikachu happily jumped into the air at this. The two then looked back up at the tree watching it shake for a few more seconds before the shaking stopped, which caused Ash and his two Pokemon to stare in confusion wondering what was going on. But then, a horde of bug Pokemon slowly came out from inside the tree: they were all bright yellow with black stripes at the bottom of their body with a stinger on the abdomen, big bright red eyes, four legs with two legs on the bottom of their bodies and two arms that were tipped with long, conical stingers, antennae in the shape of the number seven and two pairs of rounded, veined wings that were fluttering rapidly to keep them in the air. They all glared at Ash, irritated by being disturbed from their snack time. Ash, at the meantime, slowly backed away with an expression of fear: he could recognise what those Pokemon were right from the top of his head.

"Beedrill!" Ash yelled out; he honestly couldn't believe how many hordes of those Beedrill there were and he had run into quite a few in his past travels. Pikachu slowly stepped forward with a determined glar and sparks of electricity crackling from his red cheeks. The Beedrill then charged forward ready to attack Ash, but Larvitar, who had received a large fright from seeing those Beedrill so close up, suddenly let out a loud high-pitched scream that immediately prompted Ash and Pikachu to both cover their ears: the scream was so loud that light blue sound vibrations could be seen emanating from it.

"Larvitar's using Screech again!" Ash cried out, just barely being able to hear himself over the volume and pitch of the screaming. "(Not again! My ears! Make him stop!)" Pikachu yelled, having pulled his ears down and immediately covering them; he found the screaming to be just as unbearable to listen to as Ash did. The Beedrill were all so frightened by the loud screech that they quickly started to fly away in panic. Once they were gone, Larvitar stopped screaming and watched in surprise as the Beedrill horde flew away in fright. Ash and Pikachu both uncovered their ears once they knew that the screaming stopped and they both looked down at Larvitar with a big smile on their face.

"Larvitar! You chased those Beedrill away!" Ash cheered, happily picking up Larvitar and tightly hugging him while Larvitar stared in puzzlement wondering what was happening. "(Great job, Larvitar! You really taught them a lesson!)" Pikachu added having jumped up onto Ash's shoulder in the meantime. Larvitar then realised that he had actually been successful in a battle, even if he didn't mean to get involved to begin with, and showed a big smile happily clapping all the while. Ash then released his embrace on Larvitar and turned his gaze in the direction the Beedrill flew off in.

"Looks like they headed off to the right..." Ash said to himself. He then caught his own words and gasped when he realised who was in that area. "They're flying straight towards where May is! We have to hurry before they catch up to her!" he then quickly added turning to his two Pokemon. Pikachu and Larvitar both nodded in agreement and they rushed off to the area that May would be in, certain that was where the Beedrill were headed. "Don't you worry, May. I'll stop those Beedrill before they catch up to you." Ash promised, saying that more to himself than he was to anyone else.

At the same time as Ash's training, May had just finished climbing up the tree and she was slowly crawling across the branch over to the Wurmple, making sure to be as quiet as possible so the Wurmple wouldn't hear her coming. Down on the ground, Torchic and Azurill were watching all the while with expressions of concern as they were both wondering if May was okay. "(May, is everything all right up there?)" Torchic asked. "(Are you okay, Miss May?)" Azurill added, tilting her head as if she was wondering what was going on. May looked down to see her two Pokemon watching in concern and she showed a confident smile.

"Yeah, I'm all right! You don't need to worry!" May replied, waving to the two Pokemon down on the ground to let them know of her status. With this, she resumed crawling across the branch slowly making her way over to the Wurmple who was still munching on branch leaves, unaware of May approaching behind it. "Wow, I can hardly believe that I'm about to catch my third Pokemon. I can't imagine how Ash will respond when he sees that I was able to pull off something like that. Oh, he'll be so proud of me!" May commented to herself, with her cheeks lightly glowing red at the thought of being able to impress Ash with such a successful feat. But then she realised that she was talking a bit too loudly for her own good and looked down to see Torchic and Azurill staring at May in confusion, wondering what she was talking about. "Oh, don't mind me. I was just...talking to myself." May said, showing a nervous smile while a sweatdrop appeared on the side of her head from embarrassment.

Torchic and Azurill both stared at each other as they were both wondering what May meant when she mentioned how Ash would respond to her being able to catch a third Pokemon. "(Why do you think May is so certain that she'll make Ash proud by showing that she was able to catch another Pokemon on her own? Do you think that...perhaps she's trying to impress him?)" Torchic suggested. Azurill turned her head to one side while showing an expression of puzzlement wondering what that word meant. "(Oh, I thought you might not know what impress means. It means that May's trying to astonish Ash, that she's trying to show him that she's capable on her own and maybe he'll be able to see that he doesn't always need to keep an eye on her.)" Torchic explained.

"(Maybe Miss May likes Mr. Ash.)" Azurill innocently replied. Torchic stared at her new friend in disbelief at the mention of the possibility of May liking Ash. "(How is that possible? May's only known him for what, two days? There's no way that she could take a liking to him so quickly.)" Torchic commented: since she was inside her Pokeball while they were on Route 101 and at Oldale Town, Torchic didn't notice everything that happened with Ash and May. However, since Azurill was outside on their way to Oldale Town, she noticed what had happened with them.

"(Well, while we were at the big Pokemon Centre last night, Miss May told me about how Mr. Ash saved her from those scary Mightyena. She said that Pikachu helped by scaring them away with Thunderbolt and she wasn't even looking when it happened. While Miss May was telling me that story, I noticed that she had a big smile on her face and that her cheeks were glowing like a red light. So I think that Miss May might be taking a liking to Mr. Ash and he doesn't even realise it.)" Azurill explained. Torchic slowly nodded as she listened; she could understand where Azurill was coming from with all of this.

May could hear Azurill talking to Torchic all the while and she showed a small smile; she had to admit that, even though she wasn't able to understand what Azurill was saying, she got the basic essentials of the explanation and she couldn't deny it: she, in fact, had taken a liking to Ash. However, she wasn't sure of whether or not he felt the same way and whether he would actually return her feelings. But then she remembered what happened at Oldale Town: Ash showing her around the Pokemon Centre and reassuring her that Nurse Joy would take good care of her Pokemon, him standing in front of her and protecting her against the group of thugs that they had now identified to be Team Magma, him complementing her on her battling capabilities and when the two were down in the underground cavern, he held her hand to make sure that she would know that she was safe since he knew that she was worried about going down the staircase and he never let go once. Remembering all of that made May's smile grow larger in size and her cheeks start to glow, and she mentally decided that she would wait for the right time; she would wait and make sure that Ash was ready to learn about her newfound feelings and then that would be when she would tell him the truth.

Suddenly, her contemplative thoughts were rudely interrupted when she heard a loud scream coming from the area of the forest that she knew Ash would be in. She looked up to see loud blue vibrations echoing through the air and piercing the silence around them. "What's that?" May asked from surprise as she, Torchic and Azurill all looked in the direction the sound vibrations were coming from. May then looked back to see that Wurmple had turned around to her and was staring her straight in the eyes. May then suddenly screamed in shock, which prompted Wurmple to quickly scamper away and hide into the tree bushes, and then she lost her grip on the tree branch and dropped down on the ground in front of her two Pokemon, landing on her head with a loud thud. Seeing this, Torchic and Azurill both immediately rushed over with expressions of worry as May slowly sat up rubbing her head to make sure she didn't damage it too much.

"(May, are you all right?)" Torchic asked. "(Are you hurt, Miss May?)" Azurill asked. May turned to see her two Pokemon looking up at her in concern and then she smiled and slowly shook her head just to be certain that it was still intact from that impact.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You both don't need to worry. Hopefully that will be the last time I end up landing on my head." May replied. Once she made sure that her head was still safe, she looked up at the tree that she had just climbed up and fell off at the same time, and noticed that the Wurmple had scattered off from fright. "Oh, I let it get away. How could I make such a silly mistake like that?" May sighed in dismay, looking down at the ground feeling reasonably disappointed with herself for her failed attempt to catch another Pokemon. Torchic and Azurill both showed expressions of concern: they didn't want to see May feeling down on herself like this. Just then, the three could hear the sounds of hovering wings and looked up wondering what was causing this. "What's that sound?" May asked, as she immediately got up on her feet and slowly stepped forward to investigate the cause of the hovering sounds. Before she could go any further, a large horde of Beedrill suddenly rushed forward having been frightened by the loud screeching that May and her Pokemon heard. Upon seeing this, May jumped back and screamed in fright.

"What are those?!" she basically cried out, while Torchic and Aurill both jumped up into the air and both yelled out in panic at the same time. Not willing to take any chances to find out, May promptly turned around and started to run away, with Torchic and Azurill running right beside her and the horde of Beedrill chasing after them. "Why is it always me that manages to get into danger?!" May yelled. This was now the second time she had managed to get herself into trouble: first the Mightyena attacking her and now this. May looked over her shoulder about a second to see the Beedrill following her; from the looks of the horde, it seemed like there was more than a dozen of them. She then gasped in shock and quickly looked away, not wanting to get another glance of those Pokemon. Torchic then turned her head to see the Beedrill horde and, with an expression of determination crossing her face as she got an idea, turned right around and stopped right in her tracks. May and Azurill both turned to find that Torchic had stopped and was staring the incoming horde straight in the eyes so they both turned and ran right over to her. "Torchic, what are you doing? You're going to hurt yourself if you let that horde get near you!" May called. Azurill, on the other hand, seemed to understand what Torchic was trying to do because she showed an expression of determination just like Torchic and bounced over to stand right beside her.

"(We'll take care of these guys.)" Torchic stated. May stared at her two Pokemon in surprise noticing now confident they were that they would be able to chase the horde of Beedrill away, and they were just waiting for her to tell them what to do. Understanding what they were both trying to tell her, May showed a smile of confidence and then she simply nodded: she felt ready to help them out. With this, the three glanced up to see the large horde coming right towards them.

"All right, let's go! Torchic, use Ember and Azurill, use Water Gun!" May said, pointing directly towards the horde so they knew who to attack. With this, Torchic and Azurill both jumped up into the air and Torchic shot out small blasts of fire from her beak while Azurill shot a strong blast of water from her mouth. The two attacks directly hit the Beedrill horde and they immediately turned and buzzed away retreating into the trees ahead while May watched. Once the horde was completely out of sight, May showed a bright smile and she jumped up into the air in excitement. "Yes, we did it! Great job, you two!" May cheered. Torchic and Azurill both smiled at each other and started jumped up and down, thrilled by their successful effort.

"May!" Hearing that voice, May slowly turned around to see Ash run over with Pikachu sitting on his shoulder and Larvitar running beside him; she could see that he had a concerned expression on his face and he also looked worn out like he had been running over to find her from a long distance. As soon as he approached her, Ash stopped and placed his hands on his knees and then looked down to catch his breath. May couldn't help herself smiling a bit as she noticed how exhausted Ash was from running to find her; it suddenly made her imagine him running all this way just to make sure that she was okay. Sure enough after taking a few seconds to get his breath back, Ash looked up at May and then adjusted himself so he was standing upright. "I started to run over here when I noticed that those Beedrill were coming towards where you were training. Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?" Ash asked almost rapidly, as if his worry that something might have happened to May had caught up with him.

May happily giggled a little listening to Ash's concern for her safety before she turned to him and shook her head showing a reassuring smile. "No, I'm okay. That horde had another thing coming trying to attack me, Torchic and Azurill." she replied. Ash stared in surprise hearing May sounding so confident after she was just nearly attacked by a horde of Beedrill, but then he started to smile once he figured out why that would be.

"You mean you battled them yourself and chased them away?" Ash asked. May promptly nodded in agreement; while she did get a fright after seeing the horde at first, that was indeed the case. Ash's smile immediately grew larger upon hearing this: it was obvious that he was largely impressed hearing that May had yet again been successful in battling on her own. "May, that's great! You're really starting to get better at battling by yourself." Ash commented. "(He's right. Good job, May!)" Pikachu agreed showing a big smile all the while. May showed a bright smile and she couldn't help giggling to herself; though she wasn't successful at catching another Pokemon on her own today, she knew that her battling skills were starting to show improvement, and that was something she knew Ash noticed.

Meanwhile back on Route 101, Brock and Misty were slowly making their way up the hill. "We've been walking for quite a while. How much longer should it be until we get to Oldale Town?" Misty asked turning to Brock. Brock grabbed out the guidebook he was carrying with him and opened it up to take a look at the route to Oldale Town.

"We're nearly there, Misty. The Pokemon Centre is just right over this hill." Brock replied. Misty showed a big smile at this: that meant they just had a bit further to go until they got there. "That's great to hear! Hopefully we'll be able to rest for a while before we head off to Petalburg City. And once we get to Petalburg City, we'll finally catch up with Ash." Misty commented. Togepi then happily chirped in Misty's arms; she was looking forward to seeing her friend again as much as Misty was. Misty looked down at Togepi and beamed to see her so excited. "Isn't that great, Togepi? Soon you'll be able to get to see Ash and Pikachu again." Misty said. Togepi happily nodded in agreement: she couldn't even describe how much she was to be able to see her friends again. Misty then turned to Brock to ask him how he was feeling about seeing Ash, but she noticed that his eyes had suddenly been replaced with pink hearts and he had a large smile on his face which caused her to stare at him in confusion. "Brock, what's gotten into you?" she asked.

"And when we get to the Pokemon Centre, hopefully we'll get to see Nurse Joy!" Brock suddenly gushed. Misty then sighed in dismay when she figured out what had gotten into Brock: he was looking forward to seeing Nurse Joy so he could ask her if she wanted to be his girlfriend. This was such as a regular thing with Brock that it was essentially now a part of who he was, but it didn't mean that Misty had to like it.

"Some things just never change." Misty sighed, slowly shaking her head. Togepi simply slowly nodded: she couldn't agree more. Misty then looked up and an expression of fascination immediately replaced her previous expression of annoyance. "Hey, Brock! Look at that!" Misty said, quickly shaking Brock to get his attention and then pointing forward. Brock turned to Misty wondering what was wrong, and looked in the direction she was pointing at to notice that they were coming towards a collection of stone walls and a chamber surrounded by several grey stone pillars. "What do you think that is?" Misty asked.

Brock had a look at the guidebook and then looked back up at the unusual sight coming closer into view. "Well, it looks like those are the ruins of Oldale Town." Brock explained. The two soon came up to the top of the hill and found themselves standing in front of the ancient ruins. "Since we're here, why not we take a look inside?" Brock suggested turning to Misty while asking that question. Misty stared with some uncertainty; she wanted to see what was inside the ruins, but at the same time she knew that it would hold their route to Ash back a little. Noticing that she looked a bit undecided with this, Brock showed an assuring smile. "Don't worry, Misty. We'll only be in there for a few minutes, and then we'll head off to Oldale Town." Brock said. Misty then smiled, knowing that was a good idea, and then the two walked over to the ruins and stepped inside. Once they were inside, Brock and Misty both looked around in awe to see that the walls were covered with unintelligible writing as well as heliographs of Pokemon such as Kabutops and Omanyte. They then noticed that there was a staircase leading down to an underground cavern.

"Come on, let's go see what's in there!" Misty immediately stated, her interest in learning what was down there peaking. With this, she promptly rushed over to the staircase and started to make her way down while Brock stood there in silence for a few moments before following her; he honestly didn't expect her to be this excited to find out what was in that underground area considering that she was just wondering about their progress being hindered a few seconds earlier.

Back on Route 101, Ash and May were heading back to the area where they decided to split up with their Pokemon following right beside them; Pikachu was sitting on Ash's shoulder and Larvitar, Torchic and Azurill were all walking on the ground. "Man, today was definitely crazy, wasn't it? I certainly didn't expect for us to get attacked by a Beedrill horde." Ash commented. May nodded in agreement; she didn't see that coming either. Ash then turned to May with a smile and she looked over at him with the two looking at each other straight in the eyes. "I have to be honest, May. You're really doing very well with battling considering that you're just getting started with it. I wouldn't be surprised if you were even able to compete in the Pokemon League." Ash added. May couldn't help but show a bright smile; she couldn't believe that Ash already thought so highly of her battling skills, considering that she had only battled one wild Pokemon and one other person so far.

"You...really think so?" she asked. Ash simply nodded in agreement; he was very certain that May would be able to do well. May could feel her cheeks start to glow for the third time in this day alone. She wasn't even sure how Ash had this effect on her, but she liked it regardless. As the two brightly smiled at each other, Ash looked up to see that evening was slowly coming their way as the sun was starting to set over the horizon.

"Looks like it's getting late. We better start setting up camp for the night." Ash commented. May looked up with him to see what he was talking about and she could see that sure enough, evening was approaching. The two soon arrived at the area of the route they split up at and Ash turned to May. "I'm going to go grab some firewood. May, how about you see if you can find us some food?" Ash suggested. May nodded in agreement and she had a big smile on her face: she had to admit that she was impressed by how Ash knew what he was doing. With this, Ash headed off to grab some branches for firewood while May turned and looked down at Torchic and Azurill.

"Come on, you two. Let's see if we can find some food for tonight." May said. Torchic and Azurill both nodded in agreement, so the three headed off into the forest to see what they could find. Once they got to a good area, May started to look around the trees. "Let's see. What would we be able to find around here?" she wondered as she slowly walked having a look around the trees to see what there was on the branches. She then turned her head to find that on a tree beside her, there were several big blue berries hanging on the branches: she could identify them as Oran Berries. "Wow, those look so tasty. They'd make a pretty good meal." May commented. With this, she walked over to the tree and started to pluck a few berries from the branches.

"(Miss May! Come look at this!)" Recognizing those squeals to be coming from Azurill, May turned and rushed off to find where her two Pokemon had gone off to. Meanwhile, from where they were, Torchic and Azurill were staring at a bush in front of them with their eyes having gone large from excitement and they could see that there were various kinds of Berries on it. The two could hear May approaching and turned around to see that she had just arrived.

"What's happening? What did you find?" May asked. She then looked down to see the bush that Torchic and Azurill were looking at and she gasped in awe to see how many kinds of Berries there were: there were Oran Berries, Pecha Berries and many others that May couldn't even indentify. And to make the deal even sweeter, there was a lot of them too: this was just what she was looking for. "Wow, this is amazing! We've got more than enough of what we need. I have to say, not only are you two great battlers, but you're also great food hunters as well." May commented, bending down to Torchic and Azurill and happily rubbing their heads. The two Pokemon both happily smiled: they are more than glad to help May out. "Come on, let's grab how much we need and meet up with Ash." May then added. Torchic and Azurill nodded in agreement and with that, the three got to work picking several Berries from the bush.

Meanwhile, Ash had just finished placing the sticks and branches he found in place for the campfire. "Now the campfire's in place. We just need to wait for May to come back with our food." Ash said, looking down at Pikachu with a satisfied smile.

"Right here!" Ash turned his head to see May walking over with Torchic and Azurill, and he nearly jumped back in surprise when he noticed that May's arms were filled with different kinds of Berries, as well as Torchic and Azurill carrying a few on their back and head respectively. "We found a bush that had a lot of Berries on it, and we just grabbed what we needed from there." May explained noticing Ash's expression of shock.

"Well, I can agree that we have what we need. But don't you think that was a few too many?" Ash asked, noticing just how many May had in her arms alone. "That's okay. We can save whatever we don't eat for later down the road." May replied. Ash then showed a smile and nodded: that sounded like a good idea to him.

Sometime later, night-time had fallen and Ash and May were sitting on the grass next to each other cooking the berries they placed on a stick over their campfire while their four Pokemon were munching on a bunch of raw Berries the two Trainers left for them. "I have to admit, I feel like I'm out on a camping trip. Sitting out in front of a fire set up on our own, eating food that we find out in the forest. And it's better than I thought it would be." May commented as she and Ash looked over at each other.

"Yeah, it really feels that way, doesn't it? And the best part of it is you also have a great view of the night sky." Ash agreed. The two then looked to see the berries had been thoroughly cooked, so they lifted the sticks from the fire and started to munch on the berries. "I've got to say, May, this is really a good dinner. You should make things for us to eat more often." Ash commented, with his mouth full of berries. May then covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her laughing from how amusing Ash sounded with his mouth full. Once Ash swallowed the berry bits he was munching on, he turned to May. "Don't you think so?" he then asked, sounding more intelligible.

"Oh, believe me, Ash. My cooking has to be the least professional you'll ever want to see. I, in complete honesty, cannot be trusted to work in a kitchen by myself." May explained, placing her hands in front of her and immediately shaking her head. She then noticed that Ash was staring at her in surprise like he was wondering if her cooking was really as bad as she was making it out to be. "Okay, it's not really _that_ bad. But still, it's not very professional." May then added, deciding to be honest about it.

"Have you ever thought about learning how to cook foods?" Ash asked. "Well, my parents did enrol me in a few cooking classes when I was little. But I never really payed attention whenever my instructor would tell me what to do. I'm not kidding when I say this: the dishes I would serve made the others look better in comparison." May explained. Ash then covered his mouth trying not to laugh from how ridiculously silly that sounded. Noticing him trying not to laugh, May immediately frowned. "That's not funny! I'm being serious!" she snapped, upset that Ash was laughing at her.

"I know that, it's just..." Ash then took his hand away from his mouth, recovering from his near laughing outburst. "I can't imagine that something you would make could really be that bad." Ash then said. May's frown was immediately replaced with an expression of surprise, like she was wondering if she was really hearing this. "Yeah, I'm telling the truth. Considering how good these are, I honestly think you can make some really delicious meals with the right teaching." Ash continued. May's expression of surprise was soon replaced with a bright smile as she heard Ash say this: she didn't expect for him to actually be complementary towards something _she_ made. But...that was something she really liked: Ash was pretty much confident in every one of her abilities while others didn't feel the same way.

Back at Oldale Town, Brock and Misty were sitting at one of the tables eating some spaghetti while Togepi and the other Pokemon were on the floor munching on bowls filled with Pokemon food. "Wow, the meals they have here are great." Brock commented. Misty, having her mouth full of spaghetti, nodded in agreement with a big smile on her face: this was certainly a good dinner.

"Yeah, they are. But I have to admit that I still prefer the meals you cook." Misty said. Brock stared up at Misty in surprise while the Pokemon weren't listening and were still busy munching on their food. "Why wouldn't I? Your meals are some of the best I've ever tried. Besides, who wouldn't love your cooking?" Misty asked. Brock then brightly smiled, extremely happy to hear that compliment.

"Thanks, Misty." Brock said. Misty showed a big smile in return; this was definitely worth it considering that she had to be the one to drag Brock away when he tried to flirt with Nurse Joy. Misty wouldn't have been too surprised if she had to get a restraining order on Brock soon just to keep him under control. "So, how do you think Ash is doing sleeping out on Route 102?" Brock asked.

"Oh, knowing him, I'll bet he's trying to find somewhere to sleep. It's a surprise he's even able to find his way to a city knowing what he's like." Misty commented, giving a shrug before resuming eating. Brock just stared at Misty with a nervous smile; it was clear that some things about her hadn't changed despite her being older.

Out on Route 102, Ash and May had just finished eating their berries and were looking up at the night sky sitting beside one another. "Wow, the sky looks so beautiful from out here." May whispered, staring up at the stars in awe. Ash looked over at May with a big smile seeing how enthralled she was; it was obvious that she was having a great time.

"Yeah, it sure does." Ash agreed slowly nodding. May then scooted over closer to Ash, him not noticing, and then rested her head on his shoulder. Ash then turned his glance to see this and looked over at May in surprise. "What are you doing?" he asked. May lifted her eyes up to look at Ash and she showed a bright smile.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked in response. As Ash looked down at May, he noticed that her eyes, which were already wonderful enough on their own, had reflections of the stars in them making them look even more dazzling. He then found himself staring in amazement and he felt like his heartbeat was slowly increasing seeing how beautiful May's eyes looked. After about a few seconds he slowly shook his head with a big smile slowly showing; he didn't seem to mind at all. "That's good. I just thought you'd be a bit uncomfortable with me like this." May said. The two then looked back up at the night sky with big smiles on their face; it was clear that they greatly enjoyed spending time with each other.

After what seemed like minutes, Ash and May both turned to find that their Pokemon had fallen asleep. "You ready to head to sleep as well?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement, so Ash opened his bag and grabbed out his sleeping bag, setting it on the ground and unzipping it before climbing it and making himself comfortable. He then turned to notice that May didn't have anything to sleep on, as she rested up against a tree looking quite cold, so he figured that maybe he should let her sleep with him for the night.

"May?" he asked. May turned her head to look over at Ash sitting up in his sleeping bag and he was placing his hand against it offering her to hop in. "You can sleep with me tonight if you'd like." Ash offered. May then stood up and walked over, and then she bent down with an expression of surprise.

"Are you sure? Is that okay with you?" she asked. Ash immediately nodded in agreement. "Yeah, don't worry. There's plenty of room in this thing. Come on, hop in." he replied. May then smiled in gratitude, and she slowly climbed into the sleeping bag while Ash slowly moved over to make room for her. Once May was comfortable, she looked over at Ash.

"Thanks, Ash." May said. "You're welcome. Just make sure you're comfortable and feel free to let me know if you need a bit more space." Ash replied. May nodded in agreement and then the two snuggled up and closed their eyes.

"Goodnight, Ash." May said. "Goodnight, May." Ash replied. With this, the two were soon sound asleep.

The next morning, the sun slowly rose in the horizon and Ash and May were still sound asleep in the sleeping bag: during the night, May had snuggled up next to Ash and she had her arms wrapped around him. May then slowly opened her eyes and looked over at Ash with a big smile. "Good morning." she softly whispered. Ash then opened his eyes and shifted his gaze over to May beside him and a bright smile crossed his face.

"Oh, morning, May. Did you sleep well last night?" he asked. May happily nodded in agreement. "I sure did. Thanks again for letting me sleep with you, Ash. It was really nice of you to do that." May commented.

"Oh, you're welcome. I just didn't want you sleeping out in the cold. Wouldn't be feeling very good in the morning, would you?" Ash asked. May softly giggled and shook her head; she wouldn't be feeling as good as she was right now.

Sometime later, the two were fully dressed and had just finished packing up everything. "So, are we ready to keep moving to Petalburg City?" Ash asked. "We sure are." May agreed, happily nodding. With this, the two continued to walk down the path to Petalburg City. As the two were walking, May couldn't help herself thinking about what happened last night: Ash offered her to sleep with him in his sleeping bag, and he was perfectly fine with it to boot. That made her gain a big smile on her face, and she knew that though he didn't understand what he was feeling for her, she was certain that it was starting to become more than just friendship for him. Ash was looking at the path ahead and then he showed a smile noticing something in front of them.

"May, look!" Ash immediately said, pointing ahead. May looked with him to see what he found and noticed that looking out from behind a bush in front of them was a little Pokemon with a white body and its arms and legs resembled either a ball gown or an oversized dress. It also had green hair that resembled a bowl cut and covered most of its face including its red eyes, and the hair was split by two horns with a large horn at the front and a smaller horn at the back.

"What's that?" May asked. She immediately grabbed out her Pokedex and opened it up to find out what this little Pokemon was. "Ralts, the Feeling Pokemon. Ralts has the power to sense the emotions of people and Pokemon with the horns on its head. It takes cover if it senses any hostility." The Pokedex explained. May stared at the information in fascination and then she looked up at the little Ralts, who turned to see the two Trainers with an expression of uncertainty. May then smiled and nodded, quickly coming to her decision.

"I'm going to try and catch it!" she stated. With this, she grabbed out a Pokeball from her bag and threw it. "Torchic, let's go!" she called. The Pokeball then opened and Torchic came out, landing on the ground and looking at the Ralts with a smile of determination. "All right, let's battle! Torchic, use Ember!" May said pointing at the Ralts.

Torchic jumped up in the air and shot small blasts of fire from her beak at the Ralts. However, Ralts quickly jumped out of the way, much to both May and Torchic's surprise, and then ran over to May and hid behind her hugging one of her legs. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you running away from someone or something?" May asked, with an expression of concern crossing her face as she noticed how frightened the Ralts seemed to be.

Ralts slowly nodded in agreement and then pointed forward, Ash and May both turned to see what had scared Ralts and noticed a small group of Poochyena come over growling angrily at Ralts. Ralts then started to shake in fear and hid behind May. Noticing that the Poochyena might have scared Ralts, Ash and May both turned to the Poochyena with expressions of anger. "What do you think you're all doing? Can't you see that you're scaring this Ralts? And it didn't even do anything wrong to you!" Ash scolded; he clearly didn't like it whenever Pokemon were upset at each other for apparently no reason.

The Poochyena didn't pay any attention to Ash and continued glaring while growling all the while. "I guess someone needs a lesson on how to behave towards a fellow Pokemon. Torchic, use Ember!" May commented, noticing that the Poochyena weren't listening to reason. With this, Torchic shot up small blasts of fire from her beak directly at the ground startling the Poochyena and sending them running away in panic. "Maybe that will teach you some manners!" May called as she and Ash watched the pack running away. Once the Poochyena were gone, May turned around and bent down to see the Ralts still hiding behind her. "It's okay. Those Poochyena are gone now. They won't hurt you, and neither will I." May softly explained with her previous expression of anger now replaced with care and concern.

Ralts looked up at May noticing her gentle smile and couldn't feel any hate in her emotions, and then it showed a small smile and jumped into May's arms. "(Thank you...I don't know what those Poochyena would have done if they caught me. I'm so glad you were here.)" Ralts said. May brightly smiled seeing how happy Ralts was that she was there to help and held the Emotion Pokemon in her arms.

"Well, you're welcome. My name's May, and over here is my friend, Ash." May replied looking up at Ash during her introduction. Ralts slowly turned around to see Ash and Pikachu sitting on his shoulder and showed a smile before slowly waving to them. "You don't need to be scared, Ralts. Ash and Pikachu won't hurt you either." May said, noticing that Ralts still looked a bit worried.

"May's telling the truth. The odds of me ever doing anything to hurt a Pokemon are slim to none." Ash stated. "(He's right. Ash would never do anything like that to a Pokemon.)" Pikachu agreed; he knew Ash enough to know that was the truth.

"(Well, if you're really saying that it's the truth, then I believe you.)" Ralts said, slowly nodding in acceptance. Ralts then turned to May who was still holding it in her arms. "(I was wondering...would you let me join you and your friend? I know that you are both good Trainers and you would be able to keep me safe from any Pokemon who might seem dangerous. So...may I be a part of your team?)" Ralts asked. May brightly smiled and nodded; even though she couldn't understand what Ralts was saying, it sounded to her like Ralts wanted to be a part of her team and that was something she was more than happy to accept.

"Of course, Ralts! I would love to have you on my team!" May immediately replied. Ralts showed a big smile at this, the first that she had shown after seeing May, and then started clapping. "(Wow, thank you! I'll make sure I do my best in battle!)" Ralts happily explained; she knew that she was going to love being on May's team.

"Well, it looks like you have a new friend, May." Ash commented. "(That's right!)" Pikachu happily agreed showing a smile in excitement. May happily nodded in agreement, and then she looked down at Ralts with the two happily smiling at each other.

"All right! I got a Ralts!" May cheered jumping up in the air in celebration. Ralts, joining in on the celebration, jumped out of May's arms into the air; she was now part of a team that she knew would love having her.


	4. Home Sweet Petalburg

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 4: Home Sweet Petalburg**

Ash and May were continuing their trek on Route 101 to get to Petalburg City so Ash could have his first Gym battle. As the two were walking side by side, Ash turned his glance to notice a white sign on the path beside them and looked up to see what it said. A bright smile immediately crossed Ash's face when he saw the blue writing: Petalburg City, and there was also an arrow underneath the writing pointing forward showing that Petalburg City was just up ahead. "We're here!" Ash cheered. Without any hesitance, he started to run off ahead accidently leaving May behind. May was staring up at the sign and she could tell Ash was right: they were now in Petalburg City. She then looked back to ask him if they could take it slow on the way there, but she saw that there was no one there; Ash had already run off. May slowly shook her head before she started to run after him; it was obvious that Ash wasn't going to wait any longer for that Gym battle after their adventure on Route 102.

Meanwhile, Ash stopped when he was standing on the edge of the path overlooking Petalburg City. "Look at that! It's Petalburg City!" Ash gasped with a smile of amazement on his face. "(You're right! There it is!)" Pikachu agreed. Sure enough, down on the bottom of the hill Ash could see the city from, there were several different buildings amongst a large group of trees surrounding the area. Seeing the city now within view, Ash's smile of excitement grew larger and he could feel his heart race in anticipation.

"There it is, Pikachu. And that first Hoenn Gym battle is just waiting for us down there!" Ash commented. "(That's right.)" Pikachu agreed; he felt just as much excitement at the moment as Ash did.

Ash was just about to start running down the hill, but then he turned around to see May slowly running over behind him; he then realised that he accidently left her behind in his excitement to finally arrive at their new destination. "Ash, can you please wait for me?" May called. Once she caught up with him, May stopped to catch her breath and she looked rather surprised to see Ash like this. "Would you mind telling me what the rush is about?" May asked. Ash looked over at May with a big smile on his face.

"What do you think? I have a Gym battle down there waiting for me!" Ash replied. With that, he immediately turned around and rushed off down the hill once again leaving May behind. "Yeah, but can we at least slow down?" May called, reaching one arm out in front of her in Ash's direction. Unfortunately, she didn't get a response; Ash was too far away ahead to hear her. Once she knew that she didn't get an answer, May lowered her arm and then looked down sighing in dismay: this was going to be a lot tougher for her to manage than she thought it would be. After a few seconds, May lifted her head up and started to run down the hill after Ash; she was certain that with her slight delay in response time, he was already at the bottom of the hill by this point.

Sure enough, Ash had arrived at the bottom of the hill and was now looking around at how big the city really was. "I can't believe how big Petalburg City. I'd say it's probably larger than what Littleroot Town, and that was already big enough on its own!" Ash commented. Pikachu slowly nodded in agreement; he couldn't agree more with the size of the city being larger than he thought it would be. Ash then turned to Pikachu and suggested "Now how about we start trying to find where the Gym is?"

"(Sounds like a good idea to me.)" Pikachu replied. With this, Ash was about to start walking off ahead before he stopped and turned to notice May running over to catch up with him; it was obvious that he was accidently leaving her behind a few times in his excitement. Once she stopped running to catch her breath, Ash turned to her with a nervous smile on his face.

"Sorry for making you run after me like that, May. It's just that I'm really looking forward to that Gym battle." Ash explained. After about a few seconds to get her breath back, May looked up at Ash and then stood upright showing a small smile and a little frown of annoyance. "Well, that's fair enough. But do you think you could at least wait for me to catch up with you before you start running off ahead like that?" May asked, glaring slightly at him. Ash started rubbing the back of his head and laughed nervously; it was obvious that a few of his bad habits were still catching up with him. May couldn't help herself smiling noticing that she made Ash a bit nervous and then she stood upright; there was not a chance she could stay mad at Ash for too long, since it wasn't his fault that he was so excited.

"Well now that we're both here, how about we start working on trying to find where the Gym is?" Ash suggested. May nearly jumped back at this and an expression of worry crossed her face: once they found the Gym, that meant Ash was going to learn who the Gym Leader was and she would probably get into trouble with him for not saying anything. She got so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice that Ash was already walking off ahead. However, Ash noticed that May wasn't following him and turned around to see her just standing there. "May, what's wrong? Aren't you coming as well?" he asked. May promptly snapped out of her worried stance and showed a nervous smile.

"Yeah, I'll be right over! Don't worry!" May called waving to Ash. With that, she quickly ran over and the two started to head off through the city to find the Gym. As the two were walking, May couldn't help herself worrying again; she knew that since Ash heard the mention that there was a new Gym Leader here, he had been trying to figure out who it was. And once he noticed that she had been acting fidgety around the topic, he had started to wonder if she knew who it could be. Of course, May denied any sort of knowledge about the subject matter, but it was obvious that she wasn't telling Ash the truth and now that they were here, her lie was going to be exposed for what it was. _'I just hope he doesn't get too mad to me once he finds out.' _May worriedly thought to herself; she wasn't sure what she would do if Ash had that kind of reaction.

However, May's thoughts were interrupted when Ash ended up breaking her bubble of contemplation. "May, look at this!" Ash said. May quickly snapped out of her thinking mode and looked with Ash to see that he found; he was pointing at a light brown sign in front of them that had a map showing the entire area of Petalburg City, complete with pictures showing specific areas of the city. "Looks like the Gym is just this way. We's nearly there." Ash commented pointing on the picture of a building that was towards the right of where the two were standing. Now that they knew where they were and where the Gym was, that means they could get there as soon as possible. Ash then nodded in confirmation with a destination in mind, and was about to run off ahead when he was stopped by someone holding him by the shoulder. Caught off guard by this, Ash turned his head to see that May was the one holding him back. "May, what are you doing? I want to get to that Gym battle." Ash explained with Pikachu nodding in agreement. May showed a smile: she had an idea to keep Ash busy for a few minutes.

"I know that, but unfortunately I think the Gym is closed at the moment." May replied. Ash showed an expression of confusion replacing his previous one of annoyance wondering what May was talking about. May then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right. The Gym Leader left Petalburg just before we got here and probably won't be back until another hour from now." May continued. Ash stared in disbelief upon hearing that the Gym Leader was out and then he looked down and sighed in dismay; he was looking forward to that Gym Battle, but now he was going to have to wait until the Gym Leader returned before he could even have that battle.

"Well, what am I supposed to do until the Gym Leader gets back?" Ash asked. May then looked down in thought; that left her feeling a bit stumped as well. What were she and Ash going to do for an hour, which would be when the Gym Leader got back? May looked around in both directions for a few moments, and then a bright smile crossed her face when she noticed the playground just right beside them. With this, she turned to Ash having a destination in mind.

"We could head over there for a while." May suggested, pointing over at the direction the playground was. Ash turned to see what May was talking about and when he noticed the area she was talking about, a bright smile crossed his face and he turned around straight to her.

"May, that's a great idea!" Ash smiled. "(Yeah, great idea!)" Pikachu agreed happily nodding. May brightly smiled and nodded; she was glad to see that Ash agreed with her. With that, the two walked over to the area where the playground was and sat down on two of the small sitting stones that were there looking at each other, while Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and climbed up onto the middle one sitting right between the two Trainers.

"So Ash, this Gym battle really is a big deal, isn't it?" May asked. "Yeah, it is. If I win the Gym battle here, I can get a Badge. And once when I win eight of those badges, I can compete in the Hoenn League." Ash explained. So far, he had been in both the Indigo League in Kanto and the Silver Conference in Johto, and now this was going to be the third Pokemon League he would compete in. And Ash was hoping he would really do better than he did in the first two leagues; as a matter of fact, he was really hoping he would end up losing. True, it did seem like a bit of an exaggeration for the time being, but once he got there that would be a completely different story.

"Wow, that really sounds exciting." May commented, an impressed smile on her face. Pikachu happily nodded in agreement; competing in a Pokemon League was definitely one of the most exhilarating feelings to ever experience in a Pokemon adventure.

"You want to compete in the Hoenn League as well, don't you?" Ash asked, turning to May. May nearly jumped at the mention at this; she hadn't even mentioned her dislike of Pokemon to Ash. But then she smiled nervously with a sweat-drop appearing on the side of her head. "Well...of course I do." May nervously replied. Seemingly not noticing her nerves, Ash showed a bright smile hearing that May wanted to compete as well.

"I thought so." Ash commented. He then looked in the direction that the Petalburg Gym was. "I have to admit, I wonder who the new Gym Leader is. I hope I can get to find out when they get back." Ash then added. May showed a small smile of relief hearing this; while she could tell Ash still didn't know who the Gym Leader was, she still wasn't completely in the clear just yet.

"Well, I'm sure they're really nice." May commented. Ash quickly turned his glance back to May and he had an expression of surprise hearing May say that. "May, do you know who the Gym Leader is?" he asked. Ash knew that May had been very touchy whenever he brought that up, hence that was the reason why he never made any mention of the subject manner, but now that they were here he couldn't help but wonder if May had any idea of who it could be.

May nearly jumped hearing that question and then she looked away with a nervous smile. "Well, I don't know them all that well, but..." May then jumped up from sitting on the stone on her feet. "The word I've heard on the street is that they're very kind and strong, and I've also heard that they're really amazing and a really great person." May explained, getting herself into different poses during her explanation such as pressing both her hands across both sides of her body, having one hand on her right hip while her other hand was underneath her chin like she was thinking and cupping both hands together against her cheek while slowly moving back and forth like she was gushing over them. Ash couldn't help but watch in surprise; he had to wonder if May really know who the Gym Leader was.

"It sounds to me like you know them very well." Ash commented. May then jumped from her pose and looked away nervously while pressing her two forefingers together. "No, but...I just wish I did." she worriedly replied; to her, it seemed like she let out a little too much information for her own good. She then turned her gaze to Ash while still not turning her body as he promptly stood up with a smile on his face having an idea.

"Hey, I know! How about you come over to the Gym with me and we can meet the Gym Leader together when they get back?" Ash suggested. May then showed a nervous smile while dwindling her two forefingers up and down rapidly; her nerves were clearly starting to get the better of her.

"Well, I would, but..." May nervously stated. She then turned and started to walk out of the playground area while Ash watched on wondering what had gotten into her. "I just need to take care of a few things first and then I'll be right over there." May explained. Ash stared in disbelief, but before he had a chance to respond, May quickly scampered off while waving to him. "I'll see you later!" May called as she rushed off. Once she got to a safe enough distance, May stopped waving and started to pick up her running speed to get as far away from the Gym as possible. She couldn't bring herself to do it; she couldn't bring herself to be there once Ash learnt who the Gym Leader was.

Back at the playground at the same time, Ash and Pikachu were both watching as May left. "(See you, May!)" Pikachu called, waving with a big smile on her face. Ash was staring in puzzlement wondering why May was acting like this. "Okay...I'll see you soon, May." Ash was simply able to get out. Once May got a bit further away, Ash looked down at Pikachu. "Well, I guess May won't be coming with us. How about we start heading over to the Gym now?" he suggested. Pikachu nodded in agreement, so he jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and the two started to head over to the Gym; even though no one was there, Ash figured it would be best to head over there and just wait until the Gym Leader returned.

As Ash was walking over there, he couldn't stop thinking about the way that May was behaving; he wasn't sure why, but something just seemed a bit off about it. He hadn't seen May acting this hesitant and uncertain about a topic like this; he just couldn't make sense of what it was about asking about who the new Gym Leader was that made May act this unusually. Pikachu noticed that his friend seemed lost at thought and tapped Ash on the side of his head, prompting him to look over at the little electric mouse. "(Ash, what's the matter?)" Pikachu asked: he figured that May wasn't the only one who had been behaving oddly.

"I just don't get it, Pikachu. Why is May so reluctant to talk about the Gym Leader here? It's not like her to be acting this way, so I don't know what's gotten into her." Ash explained. Pikachu nodded in understanding as he listened; it seemed that he wasn't the only one who noticed. Ash then looked up as a thought crossed his mind; it sounded very strange to be sure, but he figured that maybe it was the reason for May's behaviour. "Do you think that...maybe May knows who the Gym Leader here is?" Ash suggested turning to Pikachu with that question. Pikachu scratched his chin in thought for a few moments before he shrugged; he really couldn't be certain about that, but it definitely seemed to make sense. "Maybe May can fill me in on everything when she arrives." Ash commented. He knew that he didn't want to question May about the whole thing, especially since he understood that she was somewhat unwilling to talk about it, but it was starting to become unavoidable by this point. Pikachu then turned his gaze to the path ahead of them, and a big smile immediately crossed his face.

"(Ash, we're here!)" Pikachu said, pointing forward. Ash turned his head in the direction Pikachu was pointing at and noticed that he was standing in front of a large building that had a sliding door at the front, a dark blue roof and a large golden symbol on the head of the building with a Pokeball symbol in the middle; this looked like it was the Petalburg Gym without any doubts.

"You're right. Well, here we are. You ready, Pikachu? Let's go give it our best!" Ash said, turning to Pikachu with a confident smile. "(You got it!)" Pikachu replied immediately nodding; he was looking forward to finally doing some battling. So with that, Ash headed up the steps and came to the front door, which he slowly pushed to the side and stepped inside the building to see that it was mostly empty. Ash then closed the door behind him and started to look around wondering where everyone was. "Hello? Is anyone there? I'm here for my Gym battle." Ash called as he walked down the hallway with him and Pikachu looking around to see if anyone was there.

Inside his room, Max Maple was lying on the floor happily watching a video on his TV. Max had short raven-coloured hair and he was wearing a light-green t-shirt that had a white collar and button, dark brown shorts and green sneakers that had a black spot in the middle and a white stripe on the end and he also wore a pair of glasses. Though Max was ten years old, his height made him seem like he was still seven. He was watching a video of the Silver Conference when he heard Ash calling from out in the hallways. "Who could that be? Don't they know that I'm in the middle of something?" Max asked, an expression of irritation crossing his face. He stood up, grabbed a book that was on the floor beside him and headed out of his room to figure out who was inside. Max soon came to the battling area and stood out at the door with Ash, who had only come inside and didn't notice he was there, looking around wondering where the Gym Leader was. "Can you please keep it down? I'm right in the middle of watching a video of the Silver Conference." Max explained. He then stepped into the room while Ash, noticing the little guy standing behind him, turned around smiling nervously.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I'm just trying to find the Gym Leader." Ash replied. Max then looked up to see Ash and immediately pointed at him with a big smile of excitement, causing Ash to stare in surprise.

"Wow! It's really you!" Max exclaimed. "Yeah, that's right. But...how do you know me?" Ash asked. Max's eyes had a brown tint much like Ash's, and it had become visible due to Max's excitement to seeing Ash.

"You were in the Johto League Silver Conference!" Max replied. Ash pointed to himself and nodded in agreement with a bright smile on his face; that was true. "You lost in the second round." Max then added. Ash then looked down and sighed in dismay, as did Pikachu as he got off Ash's shoulder and mimicked Ash's pose; that was something Ash didn't want to be reminded of. Max then looked away as he tried to remember Ash's name. "Hold on. Don't tell me. Your name...is Alf!" Max then stated, turning right back around and pointing to Ash. Ash then dropped down on his knees with even more dismay with Pikachu looking at him in concern.

"Actually, it's Ash." Ash corrected. Max then looked down to see Pikachu and happily pointed at him. "And there's your Pikachu!" Max added. He then came over and picked Pikachu up happily hugging him while not noticing Pikachu's discomfort in the whole thing. "Hi there, Pikachu. My name's Max." Max said. Ash then sat up wondering what was going on and Max turned to him with a big smile.

"I watched you compete at the Silver Conference live and I've been watching the videos I made of it ever since." Max explained. Ash had to admit that he was surprised; he was so caught up in all the battles that he didn't notice that Max had been watching. Max then leaned over with his face right in front of Ash, much to the latter's annoyance. "Yeah! You lost in the second round, and then you got beaten by Harrison and his Blaziken and that was it for you!" Max continued. Ash then glared at Max doing his best not to lose his patience at the kid, but it was obvious that Max was certainly testing Ash's patience.

"You don't need to keep talking the battles I lost. Besides, I did make it to the Victory Tournament, you know." Ash replied. "I know! Your battle was so awesome! I was at the edge of my seat the whole time." Max agreed. He could still remember the battle like it was only yesterday...

Charizard and Blaziken were hurling attacks back and forth at each other one after the others, such as Blaziken's Flamethrower against Charizard's Flamethrower. And no matter how much the two threw at each other or how much damage they took, they just kept getting back up: it was like neither of them wanted to give up. Ash stood at his side with confidence; he was sure that he was going to claim this victory for himself. "All right! Good job, Charizard! Now use Flamthrower!" Ash called, ready to end this battle for good. Charizard then got ready to attack, but unfortunately exhaustion from the battle suddenly caught up with him and Charizard collapsed.

"Now if you had to do that battle again, don't you think you would have used Charizard's attacks more effectively?" Max asked pressing two fingers under his chin. Ash nearly flinched hearing this: was Max trying to tell him how to battle? "If I was there, I would have won that battle easily. You've still got a long way to go!" Max commented as he looked away standing smugly. Ash stared at disbelief before he decided that maybe he should set this kid straight.

"Hold on a minute there, Max. It's one thing to see it on TV and another to actually be battling. You don't realise how tough it really is until you get out there!" Ash explained. Max didn't seem to pay any attention because he stared over at Ash with a smug smile on his face.

"So, do I detect some sour grapes?" Max asked. Ash's mouth nearly dropped open in shock seeing how sure of himself Max was acting. Max then looked away and commented "You've got some nerve coming here after losing in the second round." That seemed to do it for Ash because he nearly felt ready to snap at Max at this point.

"I told you, it was the second round of the Victory Tournament! Don't you get it?! You need to be a very experienced Trainer to be able to get that far!" Ash yelled. Pikachu couldn't help but stare up at Ash in worry; he was starting to think that Ash was starting to get mad a little too easily.

"But you still lost though, right?" Max immediately asked, adjusting his glasses. Ash's face promptly turned red in embarrassment before he decided that he wasn't going to put up with this nonsense any longer.

"That's it! I don't want to talk about this anymore, got it?! I just came to look for the Gym Leader." Ash retorted. Max then turned away and adjusted his glasses causing them to gleam a little. "The Gym Leader, huh? Well, that's me." Max stated. Ash's eyes promptly turned into small black dots and he had an expression of surprise on his face; this wasn't exactly who he was expecting considering the information he got from May. "Oh yeah! The Petalburg Gym Leader is none other than yours truly!" Max announced before happily posing with one arm on his hip. Ash simply stared in silence: this wasn't exactly who he had in mind.

Meanwhile with May, she was having a walk around the city looking at all the buildings. "I never seem to remember just how large this city really is until I come back here." May commented. She then stopped walking and sat down on a park bench that was right behind her; she knew the real reason why she had come out here. It was because she was scared to face Ash once he learnt who the Gym Leader really was. She looked down at the ground with an expression of sadness as she came to realise this on her own. "Why am I bothering trying to hide it from Ash? He'll be bound to find out sooner or later." May sighed. She then slowly looked up and then a firm expression came to her face and she nodded as she made her decision: she wasn't going to keep Ash in the dark about the whole thing any longer. She was going to go over to the Gym and tell Ash the truth herself. "Hopefully he'll understand." May said to herself. With this, she got up from the park bench and started to make her way over to the Gym.

"May, it's wonderful to see you!" Hearing that voice behind her, May turned around to see who it was and a bright smile immediately crossed her face. Standing there was a man with short dark blue hair wearing a maroon coloured vest with small black stripes on it, dark blue pants and black shoes and a woman with light brown coloured hair wearing a sleeveless light orange dress that had a cream coloured strap on the top, a bright pink strap tied around her waist and the bottom of the dress was a brown colour with an orange patch on the side along with white sandals: their names were Norman and Caroline. May could recognize the two in an instant.

"Mum! Dad! It's great to see you!" May called happily waving to them. Without any hesitance, she ran over and tightly hugged Caroline. "I didn't think you'd be back for at least another hour." May commented as she looked up at Caroline with a big smile.

"Well, we thought that we'd come back early just to see if you would be here. But we didn't expect that you'd be home so quickly." Caroline replied. "Did you get your Pokemon from Professor Birch?" Norman asked. May happily nodded in agreement, and then she suddenly remembered that she was heading back to the Gym and she also knew her reasoning for it.

"Mum, Dad, there's someone I'd like you to meet. He's over at the Gym where Max is. Come on, follow me." May explained. With this, she turned around and started to head off to the Gym. Norman and Caroline both looked at each other wondering what was going on before they started to follow May.

May didn't take long to arrive at the Gym; she was running over there after all. As she came to the side of the building to go to the front door, she could hear what sounded like arguing coming from inside the arena. So she walked over to the window and poked her head up to see what was happening and she could see Ash and Max in there, with Ash trying not to get into an argument with him. "Hey, what's going on in here?" May asked. Ash and Max both turned their heads to see her and Ash immediately smiled.

"May, there you are! I was wondering when you were going to come over." Ash commented. Max stared at Ash in surprise and then immediately turned to him.

"Wait. You know my sister?" Max asked. "May's your sister?" Ash asked in response. Norman and Caroline then arrived and looked through the window to see the two boys.

"Well now, do we have here? Is this your friend, May?" Norman asked. May nodded in agreement; that was definitely him. "Hello there. Nice to meet you." Caroline said. Ash stared in surprise wondering who these two were, while Max smiled nervously, and then he looked over at May.

"May, what's going on here?" Ash asked. Sometime later, everyone was inside and sitting on the side seats that were in the arena. May was sitting beside Ash so she could clarify everything for him since she knew that he had more than a few questions for her, one of which she knew she had to address.

"Ash, I'd like you to meet my parents. Mum, Dad, Ash joined me on the way here and he's been keeping me safe the whole time." May explained. Ash couldn't help himself smiling hearing May say that, but he figured that maybe they should get the more important matters out of the way first. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Norman." Norman said. "And I'm Caroline." Caroline added.

"And you've already met my brother, Max?" May asked. Ash nodded in agreement and then he glared at Max, who nearly jumped back in surprise seeing how annoyed Ash was at this. May then figured that now was the time to get the major issue out of the way; the one she wanted to address with Ash all this time, but she could never bring herself to. "You see, Ash..." May then sighed a little before she decided to go for it. "My dad's the Gym Leader of Petalburg City." Ash gasped in disbelief at this and then he turned his gaze to Norman to see if that was true, to which Norman nodded in confirmation.

That was when it all made sense to Ash. The reason for May's odd behaviour on the way here was because her dad was the Petalburg City Gym Leader. "May, does that mean that Petalburg City's where you live? And you're also a Gym Leader's daughter?" Ash asked, trying to make sure he had the story straight. May then slowly turned her gaze away; she was afraid that Ash was going to ask that. Now all she needed was his reaction to this. So, deciding that there was no turning back for her, she looked up at him and simply nodded. After about a few seconds of silence, Ash showed a bright smile. "May, that's so awesome! How come you didn't say so earlier?" he asked. May couldn't help herself looking down at sadness; while she was relieved that Ash wasn't angry with her, she could tell that he was wondering about why she kept him in the dark about the whole thing.

"I know, Ash. I'm sorry I didn't say a word to you about it. I really wanted to tell you from the start, but...I guess I just got too scared thinking about what you were going to say once I said it. I didn't want you to think that I was one of those people who boasted about their relations to a Gym Leader just to get attention. Plus, I didn't want to make a bad impression on you. I knew that it wasn't the right thing to do keeping it all a secret from you, but I did it anyway. And I understand if you get upset with me at all; I largely deserve it." May confessed. Ash stared at May in disbelief; why would he be upset with her? She hadn't been afraid to just go out and tell him the truth without thinking about what he would say. Ash then showed a soft smile and placed his hand on top of May's, prompting her to look over at him in surprise.

"May, it's all right. I'm not upset or angry with you in the slightest. I'm just glad you decided to be honest and tell me everything, rather than try and work your way out of the situation. While you did hide the truth from me, you didn't have any malicious intent while doing so. You just cared about what I would think, and then you decided that you should just tell me the truth. And for me, that's really all that matters." Ash explained. Pikachu happily nodded in agreement; he was glad that May was honest as well. May slowly showed a bright smile and then she nodded knowing Ash was right; all that mattered to him was that she was honest with him.

"We really appreciate you coming along with May all the way home." Caroline commented. "Oh, it was nothing. I just wasn't going to let May try and make the route here on her own, otherwise something bad might have happened to her." Ash replied. May's smile quickly grew larger at this comment: it was true that Ash had been keeping her safe on the way here. Max then quickly jumped out of his seat and ran over to Ash pointing to him.

"Mum, Dad, this is the guy who lost in the second round of the Silver Conference." Max quickly said. Ash then started to glare at Max and balled his fists, trying not to lose his temper. "I told you before, it was the second round of the Victory Tournament..." Ash retorted.

"His name's Alf!" Max quickly blurted showing a smug smile. "And my name's not Alf, it's Ash." Ash added, feeling about ready to lose his temper at Max; he had been doing nothing but taunting him the whole time he had been here. Ash then showed an expression of annoyance and crossed his arms, glaring at Max. "So you're not really the Gym Leader, are you?" he asked.

"Of course I'm not, silly. Can't you tell I'm only ten?" Max asked adjusting his glasses. Ash started to growl angrily; he honestly had no idea how much longer he can take this nonsense, but he knew it wouldn't be too long before he lost it. Ash then felt someone tapping his arm and turned to see that it was Pikachu. Pikachu then jumped up on his feet and took a deep breath before letting it out; he was trying to let Ash know how to calm himself down. Ash then nodded as he got the idea before trying it himself, and he found that he was actually feeling a lot better.

Caroline then remembered that May didn't have her bike with her and looked over at May. "May, what happened to your bike?" she asked. "Well..." May nervously replied, remembering what happened.

_Pikachu glared at the machine before electrocuting with the strongest bolt of electricity he had ever released, sending small bolts flying all over the place. As May watched with Ash lying unconscious in her arms, she turned her gaze to see her bike get electrocuted into a crisp. "My bike's been barbequed!" May gasped in horror._

"I'm sorry for that, May." Ash simply stated with him and Pikachu bowing their heads. "(Yeah, sorry.)" Pikachu agreed; even though it wasn't directly his fault, he still felt that he was responsible for May's bike becoming a wreck.

"That's not a big deal. Bikes are replaceable." Norman replied. "And walking is better for your health, anyway." Caroline added. May then turned to Ash and happily rested her head against him. "What made it even better was that I got to spend time with Ash." she added. Ash couldn't help himself smiling brightly; that was another bonus as well.

"So, May, what Pokemon did you get from Professor Birch?" Norman asked. "Yeah, show us! What did you get, sis?" Max asked. May grabbed out the Pokeball that had Torchic in it and threw it, causing it open and release Torchic who had a big smile on her face. Upon seeing her, Max didn't look so thrilled.

"What?! Why'd you pick Torchic? If I got to choose, I definitely would have picked a Treecko." Max commented. That didn't seem to sit well with Torchic because she glared at Max before lunging forward and rapidly pecking him. Ash watched this scene on with his arms crossed and a big grin of satisfaction on his face and Pikachu looked like he was trying not to burst out in laughter. May didn't look as happy however; in fact, she was staring at this scene in shock.

"Torchic, stop it right now!" May called, with Torchic seemingly not paying any attention to her. Since May was standing in the way, Norman and Caroline couldn't see Torchic attacking Max.

"I think Torchic's a fine Pokemon to choose, May." Norman said. "Not to mention that it's cute as a button!" Caroline added. May brightly smiled at this, hearing that her parents liked her choice of Pokemon. Meanwhile, Torchic had just finished pecking Max and was glaring at him, while Max looked at her with bruises all over him.

"Man, I can't wait until I get my own Pokemon. I'd love to have a Treecko." Max commented. That set Torchic off again as she started rapidly pecking Max all over again. Ash, who was watching this all the while, could tell that this was going a bit too far. Norman and Caroline still couldn't see Torchic attacking because of May standing in front of them.

"Ash, why don't you join us for lunch? I'm sure you must be starving." Caroline offered. Ash then looked up at her with a big smile. "Yeah, that'd be great! I sure am hungry." Ash agreed. Sometime later, everyone was in the kitchen eating: Ash and the others were munching on sandwiches while the Pokemon, except for Pikachu who was sitting at the table, were munching on bowls of Pokemon food.

"May told me that you've been travelling for a long time." Caroline said. "Yeah, I have. I've been to a lot of different places. And I haven't been travelling alone, either. I've actually been travelling with some of my friends, and Pikachu, of course." Ash explained looking over at Pikachu sitting next to him. May was sitting at the head of the table and she was listening intently to everything Ash was saying.

"That's good to hear. Travelling with friends is always a lot easier." Norman commented. "Yeah, and it's a lot more fun too." Ash replied nodding in agreement. Max had been listening to all of this and he honestly felt a bit jealous hearing Ash's experiences.

"Man, that all sounds so cool. I wish I could travel to different places with some of my friends as well. That'd be great." Max commented. May then looked over at Norman having remembered something that they completely neglected up until now.

"Dad, Ash would make to have a Gym Battle with you." May said. "Yeah, I hope that's okay." Ash agreed.

"Of course, Ash. How many badges have you earned so far?" Norman asked. "I'm just getting started so this will be the first badge I get." Ash explained. He then realised something that he didn't clarify earlier. "So what are the rules of the Petalburg Gym?" Ash then asked.

"I told you earlier. It's a three-on-three battle, remember?" Max asked in response. Hearing that suddenly didn't help Ash much: he only had two Pokemon at his disposal, Pikachu and Larvitar. Max then looked over at the two and smugly smiled. "You mean you only have two Pokemon with you? No wonder you lost in the Silver Conference." Max commented. Ash then glared at Max and he had to wonder how many times Max was going to bring that up before he and May left today.

"If you were able to compete in the Silver Conference, you must have a lot of Pokemon." Norman said. "Yeah I do, but I left them behind at Pallet Town." Ash replied.

"You know, you could have your Pokemon transferred to you at the Pokemon Centre." Caroline suggested. "I could, but I really wanted to start over and only use Pokemon that I catch here in Hoenn. And as soon as I catch more Pokemon, I'll come back here for my battle." Ash explained. May couldn't help herself smiling as she listened to this all the while: it was obvious to her that Ash was actually quite an experienced Trainer.

"Well, since you came all this way, I'll battle you. Of course, it won't be an official Gym battle." Norman replied. Ash immediately stood up getting out of his seat hearing this. Caroline turned to Norman with a smile and commented "That's very nice, Norman." Ash wasn't bothered by the fact that the battle wouldn't be official; he was just glad that Norman was willing to battle despite that.

"That's okay. I still really appreciate it. Thanks!" Ash happily replied. Sometime later after lunch, the group were out at the arena: Ash and Norman were standing on either side of the arena, while May, Max and Caroline were all sitting on the back seats watching the battle. "All right, let's go, Pikachu!" Ash said looking down at his partner Pokemon. Since Larvitar didn't feel confident enough for battling yet, May was holding him in her arms so he could watch the battle.

"Ash seems pretty confident for having only one Pokemon." Max commented. May turned to Max with an expression of annoyance. "Will you stop it, Max?! Ash actually has two, but this one's still only a baby and doesn't feel ready to battle yet." May retorted. She then looked back at the arena feeling confident in having shut Max up; she was watching Ash's side. "Do your best out there, Ash." May said to herself; she knew that she would be supporting him the whole time.

"All right, Vigoroth, I choose you!" Norman called, throwing a Pokeball into the arena which opened and released what looked like a medium-sized white-skinned monkey-like Pokemon with black claws on both its hands and feet, a puff of red hair on the top of its head, brown markings on its back, around its eyes and underneath its jaw and a big red nose.

"Vigoroth?" Ash asked nearly stepping back in surprise. He then grabbed out his Pokedex to find out about this Pokemon. "Vigoroth, the Wild Monkey Pokemon. Vigoroth is only comfortable going berserk and destroys anything in its way by spinning its arms, and goes even more beserk when it's done." The Pokedex explained. Ash looked up to see that Vigoroth already looked restless for battle as it was moving its arms back and forth; he could tell that this was going to be tough if he wasn't careful. Vigoroth immediately let out a roar startling both Ash and Pikachu.

"Check it out! Dad's Vigoroth is already raring to go!" Max commented with a big smile. May started to get worried; Ash was going to have a tough time if he wasn't careful. "Be careful, Ash. Vigoroth is pretty strong." May quietly commented. Ash could already tell that Vigoroth was going to be tough since, if its appearance was anything to go by, it would be expertise in strong physical attacks.

"All right, Pikachu, let's go!" Ash called. Pikachu then jumped out into the arena ready to go. "Vigoroth, use Scratch!" Norman said. With that, Vigoroth started to charge forward ready to lunge at Pikachu with its claws. However, Ash was going to get one step ahead of Norman's moves.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash called. Pikachu then jumped out of the way as Vigoroth was left striking at the ground in front of them and watched as Pikachu flew over its head before landing safely on the other side. "All right! Now use Quick Attack!" Ash said, a big smile crossing his face that he was starting to gain the advantage right at the beginning. Pikachu then turned right around and started charging towards Vigoroth at full speed before slamming straight into it. "Yeah! Great job!" Ash cheered, thrilled by his success so far.

"Vigoroth, use Slash!" Norman said, not willing to let Ash beat him that easily. Vigoroth then charged towards Pikachu with its claws glowing bright white and, before Pikachu had a chance to react, directly hit Pikachu sending him rolling backwards across the ground. From outside, the Rocket Trio were looking through the bottom window and could see Vigoroth.

"Maybe we don't want Pikachu after all." James commented. "Not if we grab that Vigoroth instead. Its natural nastiness would make a perfect fit for Team Rocket." Jessie agreed. Meowth then jumped away from the window having an idea. "Yeah, but if we gave it to the Boss, it would be even better!" Meowth explained.

"And if we gave him both, it would be even better than that!" Jessie added. The Rocket Trio both cheered in unison and Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball blurting "Wobbuffet!"

Back inside the Gym, Ash was ready to get out his next move. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt now!" Ash called. Pikachu jumped up into the air and released a strong bolt of electricity at Vigoroth, but Vigoroth straight away moved out of the way and continued running dodging further electric strikes. Ash had to admit, not only was Vigoroth really strong, it was also fast to match. But then, noticing an opening, Ash saw his chance. "Use Quick Attack!" he called. Pikachu then lunged forward and slammed straight into Vigoroth. On the side seats, Caroline, May and Max were all watching on impressed.

"I didn't think they would have a chance against Norman's Vigoroth." Caroline commented. "Yeah, Ash is good, isn't he?" May asked. "Of course he's good! He did make it to the Championship Tournament of the Silver Conference, you know." Max exclaimed. May had to admit, she didn't think that Ash would be able to live up to the reputation that preceded him. But watching him battling do well against Norman made her notice that maybe Ash was as strong as he was made out to be.

Seeing how well Ash was doing, Norman decided that it was time to stop out all the stops for this. "Vigoroth, use Scratch!" Norman called. Vigoroth lunged with its claws shining bright white and then charged with full force towards Pikachu, but Ash had an idea: he just needed to be certain that it would work to his advantage. "Pikachu, wait until Vigoroth gets close and then jump!" Ash called. "(Got it!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding once.

"Do you think he's just going to let Dad beat him that easily?" Max asked. "I don't think so, Max. I'll bet Ash has an idea." May replied. She was right: Ash was waiting for Vigoroth to come within a close enough distance for this to work. Once Vigoroth was no less than a few steps away from Pikachu, that was when Ash saw his opportunity.

"Now, Pikachu!" Without any hesitance, Pikachu jumped out of the way leaving Vigoroth still running at full speed. Vigoroth glanced back to see Pikachu in the air, and then turned its head to find that it was charging straight towards the wall. Before Vigoroth could even get a chance to lower its speed, it slammed head-first right into the wall leaving it stunned. Pikachu landed safely on the ground and turned to see this and Ash saw his chance to finish this battle. "All right, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu then released a strong bolt of electricity towards Vigoroth completely electrocuting it. After about a few seconds, Pikachu stopped to see Vigoroth shaking slightly with little electric bolts still crackling around it and then Vigoroth dropped down on the floor, knocked out.

"I don't believe it. Ash won!" Max gasped in disbelief. May wasn't shocked like Max was, she was amazed that Ash pulled it off. "All right, Ash! You won!" May cheered, jumping out of her seat thrilled.

"Yeah, we did it! Great job, Pikachu!" Ash cheered as Pikachu happily ran over and jumped into his arms, thrilled by their victory. Norman then went over to check if Vigoroth was okay, and then looked up at Ash with a smile.

"Well, you really are strong, Ash. Good job." Norman commented. Ash turned to Norman with a smile. "Thanks. There are a lot of strong Pokemon in Hoenn, huh?" he asked, turning to Pikachu who had now climbed up onto his shoulder. Pikachu nodded in agreement; Ash was certainly right about this.

Just then, the whole Gym shook and a large cloud of smoke kicked up which caused Max who was still on the seat to fall over. "What was that?" May asked. The group looked outside from the large hole that had been broken on the wall to see the Rocket Trio standing on top of a large stone boulder side by side. Meowth was standing beside Jessie and James and Wobbuffet popped up blurting "Wobbuffet!"

"It's Team Rocket!" May gasped. Caroline stared in surprise and then turned to May. "Do you know these people, May?" she asked. May looked up at her mum and nodded. "Yeah, I do. They're always up to no good and try to steal other people's Pokemon!" May explained.

"We're not your run of the mill criminals." Jessie commented. "We do bad things with style." James said. "We'll rob you, but we'll do it with a smile." Meowth added.

"Well, you don't look very stylish." Max commented, adjusting his glasses looking none too impressed with their appearance. Unfortunately, that made Jessie angry.

"We're here for your Pokemon!" she snapped. With this, she sent out Arbok while James sent out Weezing. "Use Smokescreen!" James called. Weezing opened its two mouths sending out a large amount of green smoke out that covered the entire gym area and making it hard to see for everyone.

"Now, Arbok, give them your Headbutt!" Jessie smiled. Arbok then charged forward and slammed head-first into Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped. "Vigoroth, let's go!" Norman called. Vigoroth then lunged forward, but Weezing moved out of the way and because of the large amount of smoke, Vigoroth couldn't see where Weezing went. Watching this, May then stepped forward grabbing out one of her Pokeballs.

"Don't worry! I'll see if I can help! Torchic, let's go!" May called as she threw the Pokeball out which caused it to open and release Torchic out into the arena. "All right, Torchic, use Ember!" May said, pointing forward. As Arbok was coming foward to slam into Torchic, Torchic shot out small blasts of fire from her beak which surprisingly hit Arbok. "All right, I got them!" May smiled, thrilled to see that she was getting better at battling.

Jessie didn't see this because she was busy with other targets. "And now we'll be taking Pikachu and Vigoroth with us!" she announced. "We'll see about that. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash replied. With this, Pikachu sent out a strong bolt of electricity into the air. Once the smoke cleared up, Ash turned to see that he had accidently hit Max.

"Oh, Max, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Ash asked. "Well, it's one thing to learn about Pikachu's Thunderbolt on TV and another thing to actually feel it. It's certainly impressive." Max commented before rolling over on his back and letting out a sigh.

"Team Rocket's gone!" May noticed. As the group looked around, they could see that the Rocket Trio didn't take either Pikachu or Vigoroth since the two Pokemon were still here. May started looking around and she immediately showed an expression of worry seeing someone was missing. "May, what's wrong?" Ash asked, turning to notice her.

"Torchic's gone!" May cried. The others gasped in alarm upon hearing this, and then they immediately ran outside through the large hole and looked up to see the Rocket Trio leaving in their Meowth balloon, and Jessie was holding a sack on her back that had a Pokemon squirming inside it: it had to be Torchic.

"Just like we said: service with a smile." Jessie commented while James and Meowth were taunting the others down on the ground. "Have a nice day!" The Rocket Trio then called in unison as the balloon drifted away. Once they got further away, May dropped down on her knees in despair while the others looked down at her.

"Now what am I going to do? I just got Torchic." May said, sounding pretty close to crying as she placed her hands on the ground and lowered her head. Ash then knelt down next to her and placed one hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up at him. "Don't worry, May. I'll get Torchic back, I promise." Ash softly explained.

Meanwhile, the Rocket Trio had landed their balloon and were getting ready to grab their catch out from the bag. "Well, one out of two's not bad. Vigoroth wasn't a successful catch, but at least we finally got that Pikachu." Jessie commented. She grabbed out a pair of green rubber gloves and put them on just to be on the safe side, and then she bent down and opened up the sack. "Hello, Pikachu!" she smiled, lifting up the Pokemon they got, but then her smile faded when she met with an orange chick Pokemon staring her in the eyes. The Rocket Trio all stared in shock: they grabbed the wrong Pokemon.

"That sure ain't Pikachu." Meowth commented. James walked over to see what they grabbed instead. "It's a Torchic." he noticed. Torchic turned her head to look at James with a nasty glare, and then she opened her beak and shot out small blasts of fire at James slightly scorching his hair.

"Oh, this is all wrong. You're so tiny, definitely not Team Rocket material." Jessie commented, as she looked over at James before looking back at Torchic. "We'll be laughed straight out of the Boss's office." James sighed looking down at the ground after Torchic attacked him. "But if we can use this Torchic to go back and grab Pikachu, then everything will be okay." Meowth explained. The Rocket Trio then cheered, glad to know that they had a backup plan.

Meanwhile, Ash, May, Max, Norman and Caroline had arrived out in the forest to try and find the Rocket Trio. "I don't think they would have gotten too far by this time." Ash explained. "We'll split up and look. Caroline, you and I will go this way." Norman suggested, turning to Caroline. Caroline nodded in agreement and then the two started to go off further ahead while Ash, May and Max watched on.

"Knowing my Dad, I bet they'll find them." Max said. Ash then turned to May. "Your parents are really great, you know that?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement; Ash was certainly right about that. Once Norman and Caroline were out of eyesight, Ash looked up with uncertainty: this search would have been made a lot easier if he still had Noctowl with him.

At the same time, Max grabbed out a magnifying glass and bent down on the ground looking through the magnifying glass scanning for any foot prints. "They didn't leave any tracks behind." Max commented. May stared at him in annoyance and simply stated "That's because they left in a balloon!"

"Oh yeah, that's right." Max replied lifting his head. He then stood up and adjusted his glasses like he usually did. "Then it's time to get the old noggin out of neutral and come up with a flawless theory!" Max announced. He then pointed to Ash, who stared in surprise, as he continued "And with Ash as my right hand man on the scene, we'll solve this mystery in no time!"

May now felt her patience with Max wear thin. "Give me a break!" she snapped, after which she then punched Max lightly on the head. Max stared in silence for a few moments before his eyes started to well up and then he dropped down on the ground flailing his arms and legs rapidly while May crossed her arms and sighed in annoyance.

"May hit me! I'm telling!" Max yelled as he started to sob. Ash didn't have any idea of what Max was doing, so he actually thought that he was being serious. "Max, don't cry." Ash said, honestly having no idea how to handle this.

"He's just faking it." May commented. Sure enough, she was right as Max quickly stood up having recovered and adjusted his glasses. "Well, sooner or later, that fake crying stuff was bound to get old." Max stated. Ash stared at Max in disbelief upon realising that he was only pretending and then showed a frown, clearly unsure of what to do with this kid.

"Stop messing around, Max! What about Torchic?" May quickly asked with an expression of worry crossing her face. "Kids!" Hearing that voice, Ash, May and Max nearly jumped back from surprise seeing that Norman and Caroline were back.

"We've located their hot air balloon." Norman said. "We'll get Torchic back." Caroline added. With this, the group started to head off in the direction that the balloon landed. They soon came to a bush and poked their heads out to find the balloon there having landed. "Yeah, there's their balloon." Ash noticed; he could recognize that balloon from a mile away. May then noticed something beside the balloon and gasped in horror.

"Look, there's Torchic!" she cried pointing forward. Sure enough, next to the balloon was a small cage with Torchic inside it and she was looking down feeling close to crying. "Don't worry, Torchic! I'll be right there!" May called. She was about to run over to the cage, but Ash, straight away realising something, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back away. "Ash, what are you doing?! I want to go get Torchic out of that cage!" May yelled, wondering what was wrong with him.

"I know that, but I know what these guys are like. They like to set up traps to make things more difficult for us. Come on, I'll show you what I mean." Ash explained. With this, he and May stepped out from behind the bush and slowly started walk over while Torchic watched on. But just as May took a step forward, the ground suddenly collapsed underneath her feet. May gasped in shock and was about to fall in, but then Ash held her tight by the hand and pulled her back over and the two looked down at the hole right in front of them. "You see what I mean?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks, Ash. I would have fallen in." May replied turning to Ash with a smile of gratitude for his help. The two then turned to see the Rocket Trio standing there and they seemed to be in disbelief that Ash didn't fall for their traps this time.

"That doesn't make sense. Usually you're always the one to drop in." Jessie said. "Well, it looks like I'm one step ahead of you this time around. You ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning to Pikachu on his shoulder. Pikachu nodded in agreement and he jumped off onto the ground ready to take these guys on. Jessie sent out Arbok ready for battle, but Ash seemed to have the upper hand at the moment. "All right, Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called. Pikachu charged forward at full speed and slammed right into Arbok sending him flying backwards. Meanwhile, Max, Norman and Caroline had arrived while this newly begun battle was taking place.

"How dare you steal someone else's Pokemon, much less stealing my little girl's first Pokemon!" Norman yelled pointing accusingly at the Rocket Trio who didn't seem phased in the slightest. "Looks we've got a big bad mad dad." Jessie commented. "I ain't scared." Meowth added.

"Oh yeah? Go, Vigoroth!" Norman retorted, throwing out a Pokeball which opened and released Vigoroth, and then Vigoroth charged forward and rammed into Arbok. Watching this, James realised that he wasn't going to stand by and let Jessie get taken down like that.

"So you want to play rough, do you? Go, Weezing!" James called Weezing then started to charge forward ready to support Arbok. "Okay, Vigoroth, use Scratch!" Norman said. Vigoroth then started to charge forward ready to take these two down.

While this madness was breaking out in the battlefield, Max slowly snuck over to the balloon to grab the cage Torchic was being held in. "I'll save you, Torchic." Max said reassuringly. Torchic turned to see Max and a soft smile showed on her beak. "(Wow, thank you.)" she replied.

Max then picked up the cage and then ran over to where May was, placing it down on the ground in front of her. "Here you go. You're welcome, sis. It was nothing." Max commented. May showed a bright smile seeing that Max went through that trouble to help her.

"Thanks, Max. You're the best." May smiled. She then bent down and opened the lid of the cage fetching Torchic out. "Are you okay, Torchic?" May asked. Torchic happily nodded in agreement and then started nuzzling up against May's chest while May hugged her tight. "You can stop crying, Torchic. I'm here now!" May gently explained to try and calm Torchic down.

Back on the battle scene, Arbok lunged forward and wrapped her tail around Vigoroth constraining it tight. "Vigoroth!" Norman gasped. Ash quickly noticed this and turned to Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Vigoroth needs help! Let's go!" Ash said. Pikachu nodded in agreement, and then he charged forward and slammed into the back of Arbok trying to get her to release Vigoroth. At the same time, May stepped out onto the field with Torchic standing beside her.

"I'll teach you a lesson for trying to steal my Pokémon! Are you ready, Torchic?" May asked, looking down at the orange chick Pokemon. Torchic prompty nodded in agreement with a determined expression; she was ready to teach these guys a lesson. "All right then, use Ember!" May called pointing over at Arbok. Torchic then jumped forward and shot out small blasts of fire from her beak which hit Arbok directly and caused her to let go of Vigoroth.

"All right, let's finish this off, Vigoroth! Use Quick Attack!" Norman said. Vigoroth charged forward and slammed into both Arbok and Weezing, sending them flying backwards and ramming right into the Rocket Trio who were then knocked back into their balloon.

"We'll take care of this now. Pikachu, let's Thunderbolt them!" Ash smiled. Pikachu jumped up and released a strong bolt of electricity towards the Rocket Trio, completely electrocuting them and the balloon which then caused the balloon to explode and send the Rocket Trio and their Pokemon flying into the sky.

"Why couldn't we have grabbed that Vigoroth instead of a tiny Torchic?" Jessie asked grabbing her head in despair. "From now on, I'll just be happy with whatever we get." James said. "Well, I'd be happy if we just get a life!" Meowth commented. After this, the Rocket Trio were sent flying high into the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

After the Rocket Trio were gone, May happily picked Torchic up and tightly hugged her. "Torchic, I'm so glad you're okay." May smiled. Torchic happily nuzzled up against her Trainer; she didn't want to be let out of May's sight anytime soon.

"Torchic has become quite fond of you, May." Norman commented. "I'm so happy for the both of you." Caroline added. From nearby, Ash and Max were both watching this on with bright smiles.

"So this is how a Trainer bonds with their Pokemon. Is that right, Ash?" Max asked. Ash nearly dropped in shock; Max actually chose to pronounce his name right for once. Max looked up to see Ash's face of shock and then showed a smug smile. "Don't think too much about that. It might not happen again." he added. Ash then crossed his arms: it seemed like Max wasn't going to change anytime soon.

May then grabbed out Torchic's Pokeball and returned Torchic into it, placing it in her bag. She then turned to see Ash watching her and, with a big smile on her face, ran over and hugged Ash tightly much to his surprise. "Ash, thank you so much for helping me save Torchic." May said. Ash stared in surprise for a few moments before he showed a bright smile on his own and hugged May back, with no one seemingly noticing them but Pikachu who had a big smile on his face seeing this.

It had become sunset by the time everyone arrived back at the Gym, and they came inside closing the door behind them. "So, what are you two going to do before you head out?" Caroline asked. Ash and May both looked down to think and then May smiled getting an idea.

"Mum, would it be all right if me and Ash stayed here for the night? We'll be ready to go the next morning." May suggested. Ash nodded in agreement; that actually sounded pretty good to him. Caroline then happily smiled and nodded.

"Absolutely. You two can come for dinner when you're ready." Caroline replied. "Thanks!" Ash and May both said in unison.

Meanwhile on the edge of Route 102, Brock and Misty both came out onto the hill and found themselves overlooking Petalburg City. "Well, we're finally here. Petalburg City. Do you think Ash will be here by now?" Brock asked.

"I'd say so. Come on, we better hurry." Misty replied. With that, she and Brock started to head off down the hill: hopefully soon, they will finally be able to catch up with Ash.


	5. A Day in Petalburg City

**Friends to Lovers**

**(Now before I get this chapter underway, I feel that I should address something a few of my readers have been wondering about: whether or not the Trainers can understand their Pokemon. Well, the reason I put the Pokemon's dialogue in brackets was so the readers could understand what they were saying, and I figured that it would help give the Pokemon a bit more personality. The Trainers don't directly understand their Pokemon, but they do have an idea of what they're trying to say. It just helps to increase the bond between the Trainers and their Pokemon a bit more. Now that that's out of the way, hope you enjoy!) **

**Chapter 5: A Day in Petalburg City**

The next morning, the sun slowly rose over Petalburg City. Inside the gym at the upstairs floor, May was peacefully asleep in her bed. As the sunlight slowly shone into the room, May's eyes fluttered open and she sat up and looked outside the window to see that it was morning. "Oh, looks like it's going to be another nice day today." May commented with a bright smile crossing her face. She then looked down to see her three Pokemon sleeping beside the bed: Torchic, Azurill and Ralts were all nuzzled up beside one another content in each other's company. May couldn't help giggling a little to herself seeing how peaceful they all looked and then she climbed out of the bed, wearing long bright orange pyjamas that had a white stripe streaking along the side and her hair loose, and bent down to see the three as they all slowly opened their eyes and jumped on their feet. "Good morning, everyone. Did you all sleep well last night?" May asked. The three Pokemon turned to see May and they happily nodded with big smiles on their faces.

"(Yeah, I sure did!)" Torchic replied. "(Yes.)" Azurill and Ralts added in unison. May brightly smiled as she heard this; she was glad to know that her Pokemon didn't have any difficulty sleeping.

"That's great! How about we go wake Ash and Max up?" May suggested. The three Pokemon nodded in agreement so May opened the door and then she and the Pokemon stepped out into the hallway with May closing the door behind her. She then walked over to the door where Max's room was and she gently knocked on it. "Max, are you awake?" she asked. There was silence for about a few moments before May heard the sound of footsteps on the floor and then slowly approaching the door; she could tell that Max was awake. She didn't need to wait any longer because the door suddenly opened to reveal Max standing there without his glasses on and he was wearing a white night shirt and dark green boxer shorts. "Good morning, sleepyhead." May commented with a teasing smile on her face. Max sighed as he rubbed his eyes before he stared up at May with an expression of annoyance.

"May, don't you know how early in the morning it is? It's only 7am, and I've told you many times not to wake me up earlier than 8am." Max stated. May's smile was quickly replaced with an expression of annoyance matching Max's and she crossed her arms defensively. "Well, sorry I don't keep a clock in my room. Besides, you should know that I don't keep track of the time when I'm up and about." May retorted. Max then groaned a little bit before turning around and slamming the door behind him causing May to flinch in surprise. She then looked down at her Pokemon who were staring in confusion wondering what that was about.

"Don't mind Max. He just gets in a bad mood when he's woken up early. How about we go see Ash?" May asked. She then stood upright and walked over to the door where Ash's room was, with her Pokemon following behind her, and knocked on it. "Ash, it's time to get up." May said. She waited for about a few seconds and didn't receive a response, which caused her to show an expression of surprise and then she knocked on the door again. "Hey, didn't you hear me? I said that it's time to get up. We need to get ready to go." she explained. She then waited for about a few seconds and still didn't get a response, to which she crossed her arms and showed an expression of annoyance. "I better see what's up with Ash." With this, she opened the door to find Ash lying on his stomach with the blanket pulled out to show that he was only wearing a white t-shirt and matching shorts, and his cap was on the bedside table, while Pikachu was curled up asleep at the foot of the bed. May couldn't help herself showing a smile of amusement seeing the state Ash had left his bed in and noticing that he was out like a light.

"Well, it looks like someone's a heavy sleeper." May commented, looking down at her Pokemon who nodded in agreement with her; it was like Ash couldn't hear her. She then noticed Pikachu slowly sitting up and letting out a yawn before he opened his eyes to see May standing at the door. Pikachu showed a bright smile and then jumped off the bed before running over to May. "Morning, Pikachu. How did you sleep? Was the bed comfortable enough?" May asked, kneeling down to look at Pikachu. Pikachu happily nodded in agreement; the bed was really comfortable for him. May brightly smiled hearing this, and then she looked back up to see Ash still asleep. "I'll need some help waking Ash up. I've called him twice, but it's like he doesn't hear me." May explained, looking back down at Pikachu.

"(I'm on it. I'll give him my electricity wake up call. But first, you might want to step out of the room.)" Pikachu replied nodding in understanding before pointing out to the hallway. May then nodded, knowing that she had to be out of the room since she knew what Pikachu was going to do, and then she stood upright and stepped out of the room watching from the hallway. Once Pikachu noticed that May was clear out of the way, he turned to the bed and looked up at Ash. "(All right, Ash. It's time to wake you up.)" Pikachu commented. With this, he jumped up into the air and released a bolt of electricity directly at Ash causing him to scream in surprise; it was obvious that it worked almost every time.

From his room, Max had just gotten back into his bed, but then he could hear Ash screaming in the other room and groaned in annoyance. "What did I just tell May?" he asked under his breath. With this, he grabbed his glasses from his bedside table and put them on and then he jumped out of the bed before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. "May, I just told you not to wake me up. Is that too much to..." Before Max could finish his question, he looked into Ash's room to see him having just been electrocuted by Pikachu to wake him up and he was twitching a few times from the shock. "...ask?" Max then finished and he stared with an expression of surprise, clearly having no idea of what was going on.

May then showed a smile of satisfaction seeing that Pikachu's idea was successful and then she looked down at the electric mouse who scattered over to her. "Thanks, Pikachu." she said. Pikachu then smiled and showed a thumbs-up; he was just happy to help out. She then turned to Ash who was still twitching and walked over to the bed. "Well, it looks like someone finally decided to get up. Good morning, sleepyhead." May commented. Ash then shook his head, snapping out of his shocked state, and glanced up to see May happily smiling at him with her hands against her hips to which he couldn't help smiling in amusement.

"May, were you the one to ask Pikachu to shock me?" Ash asked. May shook her head. "No, Pikachu did it on his own. I just told him that I needed help waking you up and then he just took matters into his own paws." May explained. Ash looked over at Pikachu who was happily looking at him with an expression of minor annoyance like he was asking 'You really enjoy doing that, don't you?' without directly saying it out loud. Pikachu then showed a nervous smile and started rubbing the back of his head while laughing nervously as a sweat drop appeared on the side of his head.

Max was watching all of this from out in the hallway and he looked down at the floor with an expression of dismay. "Can I please go back to my room now?" he asked.

Sometime later, Ash, with Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, May and Max arrived downstairs fully dressed and came into the kitchen to see Norman and Caroline there with Norman sitting at the table and Caroline cooking some breakfast on the stove. "Good morning!" May called happily waving. Norman and Caroline both looked up and turned their heads to see the three and showed bright smiles.

"Oh, good morning. Did you all have a nice sleep?" Caroline asked. Ash, May and Max all pulled their chairs out and sat at the table, and then they nodded in agreement to Caroline's question; they all had slept really well last night. "Well, it looks like breakfast is ready." Caroline added as she turned back to the stove. She then lifted the frying pan that she was holding off the stove and placed a pile of pancakes on each plate, putting them on the table. The three all showed bright smiles seeing what they had.

"All right! Thanks, Mum!" May happily said. Soon, the group were munching on their pancakes while the Pokemon were enjoying bowls of Pokemon food set for them.

"So, are you and Ash ready to go?" Caroline asked, looking up at Ash and May who were busily eating. May lifted her head up and swallowed the mouthful of pancakes she had before she spoke. "Not yet. We just have to get everything we need and then we'll be on our way." May replied. Ash nodded in agreement, unable to respond due to him having his mouth full of food. May turned her glance to see him and then she covered her mouth trying to stifle her giggling noticing how funny he looked with his mouth full. Max then jumped out of his seat and went over to Ash and May, who turned their glances to see him.

"Seeing as how you don't know much about Pokemon, I should come with you too!" Max announced. Ash and May both nearly jumped out of their seats and stared at Max in shock upon hearing this. They then looked at each other in uncertainty; while it would be nice to have someone to help them out, they were both certain that they would be able to manage on their own. Plus, they also knew that Max had been doing nothing but taunting Ash while he was here, so they figured that maybe this wouldn't be such a good idea to let him tag along. May then turned back over to Max with a nervous smile on her face.

"Uh...thanks for the offer, Max. But I think Ash and I will be able to manage perfectly fine on our own." May explained, trying to tell him in a manner that wouldn't upset him. Max stared at May in disbelief hearing this and then showed an expression of irritation. "Are you crazy?! Someone needs to keep an eye on you to make sure you know what you're doing!" Max retorted. Ash was watching this and he couldn't help but show an expression of concern as he and Pikachu looked at one another wondering if this was going to turn into an argument. May and Max both started to glare at each other, looking about ready to start tearing each other apart.

"Max, it'll be all right." Hearing that, May and Max's glares faded and they both turned their glances to notice that Norman was the one who said that. "I'm sure that Ash will be able to help May just fine." Norman explained. "It was very nice of you to offer to go along with them. But I'm certain that Ash will look after May." Caroline added. Max stared at this in surprise and then he looked up at May who showed a smile and happily nodded; she was very certain that she and Ash would be okay on their own. After about a few seconds, Max sighed and nodded in acceptance.

"Well...okay. I guess you have a point there." Max commented. He then looked over at Ash and showed a small glare that said 'If anything happens to my sister, I'll hold you responsible for it'. Ash flinched a little bit and then he showed a smile and nodded in understanding; he knew that Max was just showing concern for his sister.

A little later, Ash and May were heading up to their rooms to get everything that they needed. "Can you believe it, May? This is going to be the official start of another new adventure!" Ash commented showing a big smile of excitement. Pikachu happily lifted his fist up into the air with a big smile, showing that he had just as much anticipation as Ash did for this. May happily nodded in agreement, and she had to admit that she was surprised seeing how just much Ash was looking forward to this. The two then headed into their rooms to start getting their bags ready and closed the doors behind them.

In her room, May was busy searching through her wardrobe looking for things that she would need. "Let's see. I'll definitely need some clean underwear for the road. What else could I wear while I'm out travelling across the world?" May wondered. She had everything she was bringing with her laid out on her bed, including the Pokeballs that had her Pokemon inside them and a few empty ones that she still had, her Pokedex and the clothes that she was bringing with her. As she was looking through the wardrobe trying to see what else to bring with her, she heard a knock on the door and turned her glance to it. "Yes?" she asked. The door then opened to show Caroline and she stepped into the room while May showed a smile and an expression of surprise seeing her. "Oh, hi Mum! What's up?" May asked.

"I just thought I'd come see you before you and Ash left." Caroline replied. May couldn't help but giggle a bit to herself and then she turned and went over to the bed to start putting everything she had with her in her bag. "It's hard to believe that you're finally starting your Pokemon journey. It seems like just yesterday that you were going to Trainer School and now here you are, going out to travel the Hoenn Region." Caroline commented; it was hard for her to believe that May was now all grown up. May turned her glance to Caroline and nodded in agreement.

"I know! Can you believe it?" May asked. She then looked down, suddenly realising something that she thought she might ask before she left, and then she looked back up at Caroline. "Mum? I was wondering if I could talk to you about something before I go." May said. Caroline showed a smile and nodded.

"Of course." she replied. With this, she and May sat down on the bed. "So, May, what do you have on your mind at the moment?" Caroline asked. May looked down in silence for about a few moments; she wasn't certain of whether or not she should discuss this particular subject, especially considering her age and whether or not she was old enough to start talking about something like this. But she knew that this was something she shouldn't avoid and so, her decision firm in her mind, she looked up at Caroline.

"Mum, what did it feel like for you...when you met Dad? How did you feel about it?" May asked. Caroline stared in surprised silence for a few moments before she showed a bright smile and happily looked up like she was lost in memories about this.

"Well, I remember it being one of the most amazing feelings that I had ever experienced. It was almost like love at first sight, even before your father and I started going out together. And the day that we got married is still one of the happiest days of my life." Caroline explained. May couldn't help herself showing a bright smile as she listened; this was one of her favourite stories that Caroline always told her and Max when they were little. "Why do you ask?" Caroline then asked as she looked back over at May. May then glanced down with some uncertainty, wondering if she should really ask about this. Caroline could see that May looked a bit concerned, so she moved over a little closer to May. "What's the matter? Is this something that's a bit uncomfortable for you?" Caroline asked. May nearly jumped at this question and then she immediately shook her head; it wasn't uncomfortable for her in the slightest. It was just who she was thinking about while she was talking about this that made her feel nervous. "So, what's wrong?" Caroline asked. May then softly sighed, since she could tell that she wasn't going to keep this a secret, and looked back up at her mum.

"Well, it's just...there's someone I've been thinking about for quite a bit now." May replied. Caroline was silent for a few moments before she showed a bright smile and wrapped her arms around May which caused the latter to look up at the former with a surprised look.

"May, that's wonderful! You don't need to tell me who it is if you don't want to; I won't force you." Caroline explained. May showed a big smile hearing this and then she decided that maybe this wasn't as much trouble for her as she thought it would be. "Do you like this someone?" Caroline asked. May then slowly nodded in agreement; she certainly did like him quite a bit. In fact, she even dared to say that...she was falling in love with him.

Meanwhile, Ash had just finished getting all of his things ready and was heading to May's room to see if she was ready to go with Pikachu having jumped up onto his shoulder. "May, I'm ready to go. What about you?" Ash asked as he approached the door. Once he got close, he nearly stopped when he saw May and Caroline sitting on the bed and he stood at the doorframe as he could hear their conversation.

"So how will I know if that someone feels the same way about me? Or if he's even the right one for me?" May asked. Ash slowly looked into the room as he listened to this and an expression of surprise showed on his face as he and Pikachu looked at each other: what was going on in there? He then looked back into the room and noticed that Caroline showed a bright smile and he couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.

"Well, here's how I see it, May. The best person is someone who will care for you a lot, someone who will take care of you no matter what and will do whatever they can to ensure that your safety is placed before theirs. So when you feel that you're ready, you can tell that person how you feel about them. I'm sure that they will feel the same way about you." Caroline explained. May happily smiled hearing this, as she knew just the person she wanted to be with, which was Ash, and she was aware that he cared a great deal about her. Now all she needed to do was wait until he was ready to know about her feelings and then she would tell him. Besides, how could it not be possible that he actually had the same feelings for her? He had been keeping her safe from when they left Littleroot Town to now, and he had also saved her when they met. Plus, there was also the fact that Ash hadn't been bothered by her showing further expressions of closeness towards him, such as how he let her move into his sleeping bag with him for the night while they were on Route 102 and how he hugged her back when she hugged him while thanking him for helping her save Torchic.

"Thanks, Mum." May happily said showing a big smile. She then moved forward and wrapped her arms around Caroline tightly hugging her. Caroline brightly smiled and hugged May back; she was more than glad to help her daughter, especially since she was now growing up. Ash could hear all of this from out in the hallway and he had an expression of surprise on his face after listening in to that conversation. May had someone that she had been thinking about? Ash wasn't sure why, but he couldn't help himself wondering who that person could be. He then watched as May came out of the room, with her bag strapped back on her waist, and walked out into the hallway. She turned her head to notice him and nearly jumped back in surprise. "Oh, Ash! How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Well, I could definitely hear your talk in there. What was that about, anyway?" Ash asked, tilting his head to the side with an expression of puzzlement on his face. May nearly flinched realising that Ash overheard her conversation with her mum and she immediately showed a nervous smile. "Oh, well...Mum just came to see me and wish me luck on our adventure. Come on, are we ready to go or not?" May promptly asked before she ran off towards the staircase and went downstairs into the kitchen. Ash watched this scene in surprise and then he turned to Pikachu with an expression of confusion.

"What do you think has gotten into May?" Ash asked. "(I have no idea myself.)" Pikachu replied, shrugging his shoulders a little.

A little later, Ash and May were outside with Norman, Caroline and Max there to see them off. "So, do you two have everything you need?" Caroline asked. Ash and May both nodded in agreement; they were all set and ready to go. "Yeah, we do. Don't worry." May replied. Max then walked over to May while she looked down at him; he had something he wanted to give her just before she left.

"May, this is just something for you while you're out travelling." Max explained. He then showed a small bright yellow curve-shaped device that had a bright blue button in the centre that showed a screen when it was pressed along with two orange finger-holds on either side. May stared at the device in surprise before she took it from Max and then she looked down at him.

"You're letting me use your PokeNav?" May asked. Max showed a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, I am. I was going to bring with me when I get to start travelling as a Trainer. But since you'll be out there, you'll probably need it more than I do." Max explained. May stared down at the device in silence for a few moments; she knew that Max really liked the PokeNav and probably wouldn't trust her with it on her own. Yet he was giving it to her, knowing that she would probably need it on her travels. She then looked back down at Max and a bright smile crossed her face.

"Thanks, Max." May simply said, walking over and bending down to hug Max. "Not a problem, sis. Just doing what I can to make sure that you don't make any mistakes." Max replied with a smug smile. May then sighed to herself and slowly shook her head as she let go; it was obvious that Max probably wasn't going to change anytime soon. Ash was looking down at the PokeNav May was holding with an expression of surprise and then he looked up at her.

"What's that you've got?" he asked. May looked up at Ash with a smile and showed the little device to him. "It's a PokeNav. If you press this button, the screen shows a map of the Hoenn Region and you can see where you are." May explained pointing at the device during her explanation. With this, she pressed the blue button on the centre of the device and the top compartment moved out and opened up to reveal a screen which turned on to reveal a bird's eye view map of their location with a blinking blue dot showing that was where they were. Ash stared down at the screen and a smile of awe crossed his face. "That's so cool!" he exclaimed. "(Yeah, it is!)" Pikachu replied, happily nodding in agreement.

"And here's also something for the two of you." Norman said as he showed two silver cases that had a dark red Pokeball symbol on the front: they were both Badge cases. Ash and May both took one case each and Ash looked at his with a big smile.

"Thanks a lot, Norman. Let's do our best, May!" Ash said happily turning to May with a smile of excitement. May nearly jumped from surprise seeing Ash's enthusiasm, but then she smiled nervously and nodded in agreement. "We're going to go now. We'll see you soon!" May explained. With this, Ash and May turned and started to head off happily waving while Norman, Caroline and Max were waving back.

"Take care, you two!" Caroline called. "And make sure to do your best!" Norman added. "May! Make sure you don't mess up! But seriously, do your best!" Max said.

"We will! Thanks so much!" Ash replied. "We'll keep in touch with you! Don't worry!" May added. Once they got a bit further away from the Gym, Ash and May stopped waving and then they turned the right way around and started walking. As the two were heading towards the city, Ash nearly stopped as he realised there was something that he forgot to ask about. "What's the matter?" May asked, turning her gaze to Ash and noticing his expression of realisation.

"I didn't remember to ask where the closest Gym is!" Ash suddenly gasped while Pikachu stared at him in shock. Ash then looked down and sighed in dismay; he thought that he was going to do better in this region, but another bad habit caught up with him: he was going before he even thought about asking where he needed to go.

May then looked over at Ash, and she showed a smile and softly waved her hand. "Don't worry. I'll check in the guidebook." she replied. With this, she opened her bag and grabbed out the Hoenn guidebook that she picked up at Oldale Town. She then opened it up at the first page to show the glossary and noticed the number of the pages showing where the Gyms were, so she flipped the pages until she got to the areas of the Gyms and she smiled when she found where it was. "Here we are!" May suddenly said pointing to the page. Ash looked down at the page with her to see that the nearest Gym was in Rustboro City. "Let's see. To get to Rustboro City, we'll need to get through Petalburg Woods which is at the end of Route 104, and we can get there once we get out of Petalburg City." May explained trailing her finger across the map to show their route. Ash then showed a big smile and he looked up with excitement clearly building up inside him and his heart racing in anticipation.

"So then, what are we waiting for? We're on our way to Rustboro City!" Ash exclaimed pumping his fist up in the air with Pikachu following suit as the two were happily smiling. "(Yeah! Let's go!)" Pikachu loudly agreed. As Ash was about to go off ahead, May stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"Hey, Ash, hold on a second!" Ash then stopped running in place and turned around to May with an expression of surprise, wondering what was wrong now. "Since we're here, why don't we stock up on things we'll need before we head out to Route 104? That way we'll be ready once we get to Petalburg Woods." May suggested. Ash looked down to think for a few moments before he showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"May, that's a great idea! Then we'll be all set if something goes wrong. It's a good thing that you thought of that; I know I probably wouldn't have." Ash commented. May showed a big smile and nodded while her cheeks started to glow red; she could tell that Ash greatly enjoyed spending time with her, and it was the same with vice versa. Not to mention, she was glad that he agreed with her ideas and he was grateful she was here to help him out. "So then, how about we start looking for shops to buy supplies?" Ash suggested. May nodded in agreement and with this, the two headed out into the city to start looking for places to buy supplies.

Meanwhile, Brock and Misty were stepping out of the hotel that they had stayed at for the night. "Wow, that was such a great place! I'm glad that we found this hotel. I don't think I would have been able to last if we didn't find somewhere to stay. And they also let us have breakfast before we checked out. What are the odds of that?" Misty happily commented as she and Brock headed out into the city. Togepi started happily chirping in her arms as Misty looked down at her seeing how happy she was. "So, should we get started on continuing to look for Ash?" Misty asked, looking up at Brock who looked back at her.

"Well, I guess so. The only problem is that this city is really big so it'd be pretty tough to find him." Brock replied. "That's okay. Knowing Ash, he'll probably be on his way out to Route 104. So if we don't find him here, we'll keep going to Route 104 and I'm sure that we'll catch up to him there." Misty explained. Brock showed a smile and nodded in agreement; that didn't sound like a bad idea to him. So, having a plan in mind, the two started to make their way off to the city to see if they could find Ash today while also taking some time off to themselves.

Meanwhile, Ash and May were heading down the street trying to find where the shops were. "Man, this city is so big. How can you find anything you're looking for in an open area like this?" Ash asked as he looked around in disbelief. Pikachu slowly nodded in agreement as he looked with Ash; he couldn't deny just how large Petalburg City was. May noticed that Ash was having trouble managing in this place, so she grabbed out her guidebook and flipped towards the page that showed a map of Petalburg City.

"Maybe this can be of help, Ash." May said pointing at the map. Ash looked with her and noticed that the map showed various points of interest in Petalburg City, such as where the shops were and other areas. Ash stared at the map in awe seeing how detailed it was, and May turned to notice his expression of surprise and couldn't help herself smiling brightly. "I know! Can you believe it? They've got nearly everything here: shops for food and jewellery, a boutique, hotels and even restaurants." May explained. As Ash was looking at the map, he noticed one particular building and pointed to it.

"They've also got something called the Battle Club. What's that?" Ash asked. "Oh, that's a place where Trainers can go to battle others with their Pokemon and improve their battling skills." May replied. Ash then showed a big smile hearing this; that sounded like it would be a great place to get ready for the Gym battle at Rustboro City.

"Well then, we should head over there while we have a chance!" Ash suggested. "(Yeah, we should. It sounds like a great place.)" Pikachu replied, nodding in agreement. He then looked back at the map so he knew where the place was and, without much hesitance, started to run off ahead leaving May behind once again. May watched in disbelief and then she slowly looked down and shook her head, sighing in dismay.

"Oh, not again. Ash, wait for me!" May called before she started to run after him; she had now started losing track of how much he had been leaving her behind now, and that said a lot considering that they had only started travelling together. "Honestly, I feel like I need to get a beeper on him just so I know where he runs off to." May commented to herself as she headed down the street trying to catch up with Ash; while she clearly didn't dislike how excited Ash was, it was obvious that the same excitement was starting to wear her out just trying to keep up with him. She had a look around before she noticed him, having stopped in his tracks and was staring up at a building, and so she ran over and once she caught up with him, she stopped and rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Ash turned his glance to see May and he showed a bright smile.

"May, how come you keep falling behind?" Ash asked. May lifted her head up and stared at Ash with an expression of annoyance. "What do you think? It's because you keep running off ahead and leave me to try and catch up with you! Do you know how exhausting that is? I'm surprised I haven't even passed out yet." May retorted glaring up at him. Ash nearly jumped hearing how upset May was at him for making her try and catch up whenever he rushed off ahead, and then his smile was quickly replaced an expression of concern and he glanced down feeling upset with himself; he could tell that another one of his bad habits had still caught up with him, even though he wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. He then looked back at May once she stood upright after getting a chance to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry about that, May. I guess my excitement just gets the better of me sometimes. I know it's wearing you out, but I guess I just can't help myself. If you want me to, I can try and slow down a bit." Ash suggested. He didn't like to see May upset, like when he noticed how upset she got when Torchic was abducted by the Rocket Trio, and he especially didn't want to be the one to cause her to feel like this. Ash couldn't quite figure out what it was, but he felt that May was someone special to him, and he wasn't able to make sense of why he felt this way about her either. His thoughts were quickly interrupted when he looked back down at May to see her showing a bright smile at his suggestion and then she instantly stood upright, and Ash could see that May also had a teasing expression on her face.

"Isn't that kind of what I've been trying to ask you from the start? We have plenty of time, so what's all the rushing about?" May asked. Ash couldn't help himself showing a big smile back and he had to be honest, he sometimes wondered the same thing. Why was he always in a rush when he clearly had a lot of time to travel? If he had to hazard a guess, it was because he felt that he didn't want to waste time getting to the Pokemon League. But now he realised that the consequence of that was that he didn't have a lot of time to prepare himself for the challenges ahead. Ash didn't want to make the same mistake while travelling through Hoenn; he wanted his adventure through this region to be an improvement from his previous resume.

"Well, I sometimes ask myself the same thing, but I can never figure out why. I guess it's because I'm always in a rush to get where I want to go as soon as possible, but now I've found that has its own disadvantages." Ash replied, as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Pikachu sighed and slowly shook his head; that sounded like Ash all right, always the one to rush off ahead without thinking.

"I guess that sounds reasonable enough. So, we ready to head into that Battle Club or what?" May asked, as she was now composed and ready to get going again. Ash nodded in agreement, so the two turned to the building in front of them, which had a white and red arena symbol on the front that had a Pokeball in the middle and the building being coloured a hybrid of bright yellow on the walls and light green on the sides, and stepped inside with the automatic doors opening to let them inside.

Meanwhile, Brock and Misty were continuing their walk through the city searching for Ash. "Oh, where could he be? You'd think that when it comes to Ash, he'd stick out like a sore thumb. But instead we're left wondering around lost like sheep without their herder." Misty sighed as she looked around the area with an annoyed expression on her face; it seemed that trying to find Ash was much harder than they suspected it would be. Brock turned his gaze to her with a smile noticing her annoyance and figured that maybe he should help her out before she started to lose her patience. "Well, let's not forget that Petalburg City is quite large so it wouldn't be easy to find something you're looking for here." Brock commented. As Misty was about to give her two cents on the matter, she turned her head to notice something that caught her attention and a smile of awe immediately crossed her face.

"Hey, Brock, look at that!" Misty suddenly said pointing upwards. Brock looked up with her to see what was wrong and he saw that there was a large foundation of steel girders being set up in a clear area of the city. "It looks they're working on a new building. What do you think it's going to be once they're finished?" Misty asked as the two glanced up at the construction in progress. Brock looked down to think about that; he wasn't too certain of that himself.

Up on one of the steel girders, the Rocket Trio were there helping with the construction; they were wearing light blue work uniforms and yellow work helmets to protect their heads as well as gloves so they were careful while handling the power tools. James was busy with a jackhammer pounding nails into the girders when Meowth, who was busy with a hammer, turned to him with a glare of annoyance. "I can't hear ya!" Meowth yelled, which prompted James to glance down at him with a frown.

"Well, open those big ears!" James replied. "My ears are wide open! Why don't you open up your mouth?" Meowth asked in response. Jessie, who was busy at work behind one of the girders, could hear their argument from where she was and started to growl in annoyance to herself; she had to wonder how they even got stuck working at this construction site.

"If I open my mouth any wider, something might fly into it!" James yelled out in response to Meowth's suggestion. "Well, guess what? It might just be my fist if you don't watch out!" Meowth blurted. That seemed to do it for Jessie because she immediately headed over and poked her head out from her working area with a nasty glare, prompting James and Meowth to turn their heads to notice her.

"Hey, you two! Break it up! Try working the power tools instead of your mouths." Jessie suggested. Her frown was then replaced an expression of dismay and she let out a small sigh. "If I have to spend another minute in this jumpsuit, I'm going to scream." she added.

"Yes, they do have a tendency to rile up." James commented, nodding in agreement with Jessie's discomfort of their work uniforms; it was a disappointment to them that they weren't able to find more accommodating sizes, but they had to make the most of what they were given. "I predict that Jessie's acting irritable because she's hungry." Meowth commented. James glanced down at Meowth in surprise wondering what he was talking about.

"What makes you say that?" James asked. "Just an astute observation, see?" Meowth asked in response. Jessie didn't look too amused with their comments, as she looked about ready to smack their heads in for acting smart.

"You two get back to work or I'll give you astute right between the eyes! And besides that, I'm not hungry!" Jessie snapped. However, that statement was shot down in no less than a second when Jessie suddenly heard her stomach start to grumble. Realising that she spoke too soon, Jessie then looked down in dismay. "Well...maybe I could go for a nibble." she then added, figuring just how wrong she was.

"Yeah, doing all this manual labour until we catch that Pikachu is exhausting." Meowth commented with James nodding in agreement all the while. "And until that glorious moment, I'm afraid we'll have to work for money." James added.

"Well, I guess you two are right. But there's just one problem..." Jessie sadly agreed, before her expression of dismay was immediately replaced with one of anger and she yelled out "What if all this heavy lifting leaves me looking more like a muscle-bound Machoke than my usual magnificence?!"

James nearly jumped hearing Jessie's sudden outburst and then he showed a nervous smile as he figured out a positive of that. "Well, look on the bright side, Jess. You'll be getting a much needed workout." he commented. He noticed that Jessie didn't look too amused; in fact, she was showing him a pretty nasty frown. James stumbled back seeing that she was upset and he figured that he should act fast before she gave him a beat down. "It's supposed to be a compliment! I'm trying to say that once this is over, you'll look even more magnificent than you already are." James quickly stated.

Jessie stared at James in surprise for a few moments before she showed a big smile as she seemed to understand what he was trying to tell her. "Oh...I knew that." Jessie commented. Once he saw that Jessie wasn't angry, James let out a silent sigh of relief; one thing he didn't want to do was make Jessie mad on purpose, and he and Meowth knew that they should stay at least a sizable distance away when Jessie lost her temper. Wobbuffet, who was wearing a matching work helmet, then popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

Back with Ash and May, they had stepped inside the Battle Club. The two looked around to see that the building was actually larger inside than how it looked from the outside; the ceiling was coloured a light blue with tile lines running along both the ceiling and walls as well as small white lights, the walls were a combination of both red and orange and there were also computers around the room displaying information that looked like it was typed in a different language as well as images above the writing. Ash looked around in awe with a big smile on his face, and May turned to notice this and she couldn't help herself smiling back. "I know. It looks great, doesn't it? And over there are the bulletin boards." May explained, pointing over at the computers nearby. The two then walked forward towards one of the computers and May pressed the image on the top left that had an image of two trainers standing side by side, which then showed images of different trainers, their Pokemon and their profiles. As the two looked at the screen, Ash seemed to notice something and he glanced down to find that May was holding his hand. He then looked up at her to see that she didn't even seem to notice this.

"Uh, May?" he asked. May turned to Ash wondering what was wrong before she looked down to notice that absentmindedly, she had grabbed hold of his hand without either of them realising it. She then looked up at him, noticing his expression of puzzlement, and instantly let go. "Sorry about that." May said looking down at the floor as she realised what she had been doing, and then she slowly looked up at him showing a bright smile. Ash stared for a few moments before he smiled back; while May's behaviour was something he still couldn't quite put his finger on yet, it was clear to him that she liked to spend time with him. Silence passed between the two as they stared at each other, with Pikachu looking on all the while wondering what had gotten into them, before Ash spoke up.

"So are you ready to head over to the battle arenas?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement, and so the two started to make their way down through the small hallway leading to the arenas. Soon, the two arrived at an automatic door which opened to reveal the room where the battle arenas were. When they stepped inside, Ash and Pikachu both looked around the area in awe: the room was large, probably more so than he expected it to be. And he could also that there were two large arenas that made up a good amount of the room's area and there were also battles taking place on both of them. As Ash and Pikachu were both taking in everything around them, May turned to notice their big smiles of excitement and showed a bright smile of her own.

"I know! It all looks really exhilarating, doesn't it? I'm excited for all of this as well." May commented. The two then started to head down to the arenas and saw that the battles taking place were just finishing, and then they headed over to the benches that were outside of the arenas and sat down on one of them to watch the end of the battles. "So, Ash, who do you think you'll be going up against? I hope I don't end up battling someone too tough; I don't want to give any of my Pokemon a hard time straight away." May said as she and Ash turned to each other and then looked back at the arenas with May showing an expression of concern at the thought of going up against a strong Trainer right at the start. Ash turned to May hearing her concerns and showed a confident smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder which caused her to look over at him.

"May, I'm sure you won't have anything to worry about. Just make sure you do your best." Ash explained to which Pikachu nodded in agreement. May's bright smile returned to her face at this support and then she showed an expression of determination and nodded, since she knew that Ash was right. The two then looked up to see that the battles taking place on the arenas had just finished. "I guess it's our turn to battle now. You ready for this, May?" Ash asked as he and May then turned to their glances back to each other. May showed a smile of determination and nodded in agreement. With this, the two Trainers stood up and made their way to each arena.

Outside with Brock and Misty, the two were taking a break from their search for Ash; they were sitting outside a small cafe that they came across and decided to grab something to eat while they were there. "I have to say, this is a nice little place we found. Petalburg City is huge, but it's easy to find what you're looking for once you know where you're going." Misty commented as she was holding Togepi in her arms and watching her chewing on bits of Pokemon food. Brock nodded in agreement; while it would be easy to end up lost in a city like this, that wasn't an issue for them since they had been in big cities like this in their travels. "So, how do you think Ash will react when we finally catch up with him?" Misty asked looking up at her friend.

"I think he'll be in for a big surprise. Since we told him that we had to split up, I'll bet he'll be thrilled when he finds out that we're getting to travel with him again." Brock replied. Misty simply nodded once with a big smile: she remembered how Ash didn't realise at first that she was upset about them separating, but she also remembered that he promised that they would see each other again soon. She could only imagine how surprised he would be when he found out that sooner happened much earlier than he expected it to. She then turned to Brock and was about to ask him what he was going to order when she noticed that he wasn't in his seat anymore.

"Brock? Where'd you go?" Misty asked looking around in surprise. She then looked inside the cafe to find Brock, his eyes replaced with hearts and he was holding the hand of the waitress there; while she couldn't hear what he was saying, it was obvious to Misty that Brock was trying to ask her out. "Oh, not again..." Misty groaned looking down at the ground with an expression of dismay; some things about Brock would just never change.

Back inside the Battle Club, Ash and May had arrived out on the arenas ready to battle; Ash was battling a young boy wearing a bright yellow t-shirt, a blue cap backwards on his head and matching shorts and sneakers while May was up against a young woman wearing a long light green dress, a matching floppy hat and white high heel shoes. Ash then turned to May noticing that she still looking a bit anxious. "May!" May turned her glance to Ash wondering what was up. "Don't worry. Just do the best you can." Ash explained. Pikachu nodded in agreement as he was waving from Ash's shoulder. May then showed a bright smile with her worries seeming to disappear entirely and she nodded in agreement, and then the two Trainers turned their glances back to their respective battlers. Both of their battles were two-on-two so that it would be fair on both arena battles that were taking place.

"All right, Poochyena, let's go!" The youngster, Joey, said as he grabbed a Pokeball from the belt on his shorts and threw it, causing it to open and release said Pokemon who dropped down onto the arena and shook itself vigorously before glaring ready for battle. Ash turned to Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"Let's do our best, buddy!" Ash said. "(You know it, Ash!)" Pikachu agreed nodding with a confident smile before jumping off Ash's shoulder and landing on his side of the arena staring Poochyena straight in the eyes; he was feeling pumped and ready to go.

As with May, she was still trying to figure out which Pokemon she wanted to use first. "I know that I've already let Torchic and Azurill battle once before each time, or twice for Torchic if I include Team Rocket's attack." May said to herself with her fingers underneath as she was trying to think about who to start with. After a few more seconds of thought, she nodded as she came to her decision.

"Do your best, my darling Zigzagoon!" The young lady, Cindy, said as she threw out a Pokeball she was holding which opened and released a raccoon-like Pokemon with zigzag-patterned fur that had layers of brown and cream colour, spiky ears, a black nose and a mask pattern over its dark brown eyes which landed on the arena.

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" May wondered. With this, she grabbed out her Pokedex and opened it up to find out. "Zigzagoon, the Tiny Racoon Pokemon. Zigzagoon is extremely curious and so ends up walking in a zigzag pattern between things that interest it." The Pokedex explained. May stared down at the Pokedex in silence before she looked back up at the little Pokemon in front of her, and then she put her Pokedex back in her bag to get the battle started.

"Okay then, let's give it everything we've got. Ralts, come on out!" May called. She then grabbed out a Pokeball from her bag and threw it out into the arena, causing it to open and release the little Emotion Pokemon who landed safely on the arena. "All right, are you ready, Ralts? Let's go!" May said pointing at the Zigzagoon. Ralts nodded in agreement ready to battle. Silence passed for a few seconds as the two Pokemon stared blankly at each other and May looked down to find that Ralts wasn't doing anything. "Come on, what are you waiting for? Attack Zigzagoon!" May snapped pointing forward while Ralts stared up at her unsure of what to do.

Ash, who had already gotten his battle underway, noticed that May was having a bit of trouble getting started so he decided to help her out a bit. "May, you need to tell Ralts to use an attack!" Ash called.

"Well, what moves does Ralts know?" May asked in response, turning to Ash with an expression of minor annoyance. "Try looking that up in your Pokedex!" Ash suggested. May stared in silence for a few moments before she brightly smiled and nodded.

"Oh, okay. Thanks!" May replied. She then grabbed her Pokedex out from her bag and opened it up to look up Ralts and find out what moves Ralts could use. "All right, let's see what moves you know. Confusion, Double Team..." May read to herself looking down at the Pokedex screen. While she was occupied, Cindy and Zigzagoon both stared at each other both thinking the same thing: maybe this wasn't the best idea they had. But they decided not to mention that and looked back at May.

"Um, excuse me? Are we ready to begin our battle?" Cindy asked. May looked up from her Pokedex and then she showed a nervous smile and nodded in agreement as she placed her Pokedex back in her bag. "Yeah, I'm ready now. Let's battle!" May replied. Zigzagoon lowered its head looking down at the floor with an expression of dismay as it asked itself "(Is this really the Trainer I'm battling against?)" With this, the battle between May and Cindy was ready to start.

"All right, Ralts, use Confusion!" May said as she pointed forward with a determined expression; she was really hoping to do well considering that this was going to be her first battle against another Trainer.

Meanwhile with Ash, he was now engaged in his battle against Joey. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" he called. Pikachu started to charge forward at a high speed before he slammed straight into Zigzagoon sending it flying backwards and sliding across the arena ground. Zigzagoon jumped back up on its feet, not ready to be taken down just yet.

"We'll show them what we can do. Use Sand Attack, Zigzagoon!" Joey said. With this, Zigzagoon started to scrape its paws across the ground bringing up a good amount of dirt. Pikachu quickly moved out of the way, but unfortunately Ash didn't get a chance to respond which meant that the kicked up dirt ended up hitting him, causing him to fall over backwards on the floor. Joey nearly jumped back from surprise seeing that attack backfire while Pikachu turned and ran over to his friend in concern. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Joey blurted.

May turned her head to see what happened and she noticed Ash lying on the floor, so she immediately ran over with Ralts beside her while Cindy watched on wondering what happened. "Ash, are you okay? What happened?" May asked as she bent down to see if Ash was all right. She watched as Ash slowly sat up and he was rubbing his eyes vigorously; as May looked closer, she noticed that there was dirt in them. "How did that happen?" she asked in surprise.

"That was my fault. See, I got Zigzagoon to use Sand Attack, but Pikachu moved out of the way and your friend ended up getting hit instead. I'm so sorry about that!" Joey explained looking down at the two Trainers with an expression of worry on his face. Zigzagoon then looked down at the arena ground in shame; even though it wasn't intentional, Zigzagoon felt like it was responsible for this incident.

May stared in silence after hearing this and then she showed a soft smile and slowly shook her head. "It's all right. It was just an accident, that's all." she replied. She then turned her attention back to Ash as he was busy rubbing his eyes to try and get the dirt out. "Come on, Ash. We better go get your eyes washed out." May said. The two then stood up and started to make their way out of the Battle Club with Pikachu and Ralts following not too far behind. Joey and Cindy both watched them and once they were out of the arena, the two Trainers looked over at each other.

"Well, since we're still here, why don't we make this battle between us instead?" Joey suggested. Cindy simply smiled and nodded in agreement. "I was just thinking the same thing." she commented.

Outside with Ash and May, they were sitting outside the building on a park bench and May was busy running a cloth she had in her bag under the water taps next to the building. Pikachu looked up at Ash who still had his eyes closed because of some dirt still stuck in them. "(Are you all right, Ash?)" Pikachu asked staring up at his friend in concern. Ash looked down in the direction Pikachu was sitting in and nodded in agreement with a bright smile; even though he couldn't open his eyes just yet, he could tell that voice was Pikachu's.

"Yeah, you don't need to worry, buddy. I'm just fine." Ash replied. Pikachu then showed a big smile of relief and nodded; he was at least glad to hear that Ash would be okay. The two then turned their heads to see May walk over with the cloth for Ash.

"Here you go, Ash. You can wipe your eyes off." May said handing the cloth to Ash. She then sat down on the bench beside Ash and watched as he wiped his eyes before he was able to open them and she showed a smile when she saw that his eyes weren't covered in dirt anymore. "How do you feel now, Ash?" she asked.

"That's a lot better. Thanks, May." Ash replied turning to her with a bright smile. May happily smiled back and giggled to herself; she was glad to see that Ash was all right. The two then looked back at the large city in front of them and turned their glances to each other. "Sorry for making us leave the Battle Club that early. I know you were looking forward to battling against other Trainers, so I hope you're not too upset about that little issue." Ash explained showing an expression of concern during his explanation. May simply shook her head; she wasn't bothered by that in the slightest.

"That's not a problem at all! I just wanted to make sure that you weren't hurt. I mean, I really didn't want anything bad to happen to you." May replied, but then she suddenly caught her own words and quickly turned her glance away from Ash with a blush appearing on her face. She slowly turned her gaze back to Ash and showed a small smile; she was hoping that he wasn't starting to get suspicious about her behaviour towards him. Fortunately, it seemed that May didn't need to worry because Ash stared at her in silence with an expression of surprise for a few seconds before he showed a big smile.

"May, I can safely assure you that I'm all right. You don't need to worry." Ash said placing one of his hands on top of May's. May looked up at him to see that he was showing a big smile; Ash seemed to always be so confident, and he always showed the positive of any situation no matter how tough things are. As May realised this, she couldn't help herself smiling back. Suddenly, the pair's quiet moment was rudely interrupted by the sound of Ash's stomach grumbling. There was stunned silence before Ash showed a nervous smile while May stared in surprised puzzlement. "Sorry...I guess I'm feeling a bit ready for some lunch right about now." Ash nervously explained. Pikachu, who had been watching them sitting on the park bench, looked down on the ground and let out a sigh of dismay. "(Why did it have to be at a time like this?)" Pikachu asked himself; it seemed that Ash's appetite came at the worst possible times.

May was silent as she stared with an expression of minor annoyance, mostly at Ash for ruining the moment, before she showed a bright smile having an idea. "You know, I'm starting to feel the same. After all, we did get a bit of a late start." she commented. She then jumped up on her feet and turned to Ash while he was watching wondering where she was getting at. "Luckily, I know a really good place we can go to have something to eat. Come on, follow me!" May continued before she grabbed Ash by the hand and started to rush off dragging him behind her. As Ash was struggling to keep up with May, and it wasn't being made easy for him since she was essentially pulling him along for the ride, he looked over at Pikachu who had climbed back up on his shoulder.

"May really seems excited about all of this, huh?" Ash asked. "(Yeah, she is. I wonder why...)" Pikachu replied glancing over at his Trainer with a surprisingly smug smile on his face. Ash couldn't help staring blankly at Pikachu, wondering what he was trying to tell him.

Soon, the two arrived at a restaurant that was located next to where the shops seemed to be. Ash looked up at the restaurant to notice that it was actually quite large, and the outside was coloured a combination of pink, blue and orange. He then looked over at May who was looking up at the place with a big smile on her face. "So this is the place we're going to?" Ash asked which prompted May to turn her glance to him. May happily nodded in agreement at this question.

"Yeah, it is. Doesn't it look great? Mum told me that she and Dad used to come here a few times while they were dating. She said that it was a great place so I figured that maybe I should show you what it looks like. Come on, let's go inside." May replied. So the two started to make their way to the entrance of the restaurant still holding hands. Once they arrived, May opened the glass doors and stepped inside with Ash following right beside her. "Hello? Is anyone here?" May called as she and Ash came to stop in front of the 'Please wait to be seated' sign. Fortunately, the pair only had to wait for about a few seconds as the young waitress came to see them. "We would like a table for two, please." May said with Ash nodding in agreement.

"Certainly. A table just became available near the windows. Follow me." The waitress replied, and then she turned and started to walk over to the table while Ash and May followed not too far behind. The three soon came to a round table that had two chairs on either side. "Here we are. Please take your seat and I'll come take your order in a little while." The waitress explained turning to Ash and May. The two nodded in agreement and then they walked over and pulled their chairs out to sit down while the waitress walked off to see to other patrons that were there. Once she left, Ash and May both turned to look outside the window their table was next to.

"Check it out, May! You can almost the entire city from here." Ash commented looking out at Petalburg City in awe. May nodded in agreement; once she had a close look, that definitely seemed to be the case. The two stared out at the city in silence for a few seconds before they looked back at each other. "I've got to say, this is already a great place. How often did your parents come here?" Ash asked. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and watched from next to the table figuring that they would need to be left alone during this talk.

"Mum always said that she and Dad would come here at least once a month when they had the chance. Whenever they wouldn't come here, they would take the opportunity and go on late night walks around the city. Mum would always tell me about what she and Dad used to do together when they started going out, and I always loved hearing about it. Oh, I can't wait until I get to be in my Mum's place!" May happily replied with a big smile crossing her face and a blush appearing on her cheeks as she remembered when Caroline would tell her about when she and Norman started dating. Ash nodded with a smile as he listened to this; normally topics like this would simply fly over his head, but now Ash found that he was starting to pay more attention to these kinds of subject matters.

"Well, I might not know much when it comes to romance, but I bet you'll find someone who'll know how to take care of you." Ash said. May happily nodded in agreement, but then she nearly jumped out of her seat as she realised that Ash had overheard her conversation with Caroline before leaving the Gym, and those words were the same ones that Caroline said to her. That started to make her wonder: was Ash starting to catch on with the fact that she liked him, and as more than just a friend? After all, she did decide that she would wait until he was ready to tell him the truth, but she was starting to wonder if he was figuring it out on his own. Pikachu had been listening in on this conversation and he couldn't help himself showing a big smile listening to Ash; this was a far cry from the oblivious Trainer that Pikachu knew, that much was certain. And now he was thinking the same thing that May was: was Ash...starting to get it? The conversation was interrupted when Ash and May turned their heads to see the waitress come to take their order.

Meanwhile, Brock and Misty were walking through the city continuing their search for Ash; it seemed that they had been walking for a good few hours, and it was starting to wear Misty's patience thin. "I don't believe this. How hard can it be just to try and find Ash?! I mean, honestly! I can understand that it wouldn't be easy in a big city like this, but this is getting ridiculous! I feel like we've been wandering through the same area many times." Misty snapped. Brock looked over at her with a nervous smile; she had been ranting like this for at least a few minutes and it was becoming clear that this searching was starting to needle at Misty's patience. He could tell that she wouldn't be in the mood for reason when she was like this, but he had to find a way to get her to calm down.

"Now let's just calm down, Misty. We don't want to end up making a scene." Brock calmly suggested. Just as he thought, Misty rapidly turned her head to him with a nasty glare which nearly caused him to flinch; Misty wasn't someone to mess with when she was mad. "How am I supposed to calm down?! I feel like we've been walking in circles for the past few hours!" Misty retorted. She then shifted her glance from Brock and looked down at the ground groaning in irritation to herself; as soon as they finally caught up with Ash, she was going to give a good lecture for making them wear themselves out just trying to find him. Brock was about to speak again, but he quickly decided otherwise and kept his mouth shut, to avoid running the risk of Misty snapping at him again. He was just lucky that there was no one around that heard Misty's temper tantrum, otherwise he would have getting confused stares from all sides.

Back inside the restaurant, Ash and May were currently enjoying some lunch. The two had dishes of spaghetti while their Pokemon, who they had released from their Pokeballs, were munching on bowls of Pokemon food that were set out for them. "So, after we're done here, are we going to get started on shopping for what we'll need?" May asked looking up at Ash. Ash stared up at her in silence before he remembered what she was talking about and nodded in agreement; it was a good thing that May still remembered that. He had a feeling that he would have forgotten about it by now, so it was a relief to him for May to remind him. "What kind of supplies will we need to buy?" May then added.

"Well, let's think. We'll definitely need Pokemon food, and we'll also need food for ourselves as well as medicine. So then we'll be ready for any kind of situation on our way to Rustboro City." Ash replied. May couldn't help showing an impressed expression hearing how much Ash had figured all of this out; it was almost like he was a natural at all of this travelling business.

"Wow, Ash, you really have all of this under control, don't you? It's almost like you naturally know what you're doing." May commented. "Well, I have been travelling for quite a while, so I do need to be ready for any kind of situation. Unfortunately, that was a lesson I needed to learn the hard way." Ash replied showing a nervous smile as he remembered how inexperienced he was when he started his journey. As the two Trainers and their Pokemon were busy enjoying their lunch, they didn't hear the front doors open to which Brock and Misty stepped inside the restaurant.

"Look at this place! It looks amazing." Misty gasped in awe, with her frustration over the fruitlessness of their search for Ash being replaced with awe at the restaurant they had just stepped inside with Togepi cheerfully chirping in her arms. Brock couldn't help looking over at Misty seeing how awestruck she was as she took in their surroundings; it was certainly a relief for him that she wasn't thinking about how badly their search was going for now. The two then turned to see the young waitress come over to see them with a bright smile.

"Hello! Can I help you today?" she asked. Misty nodded in agreement and she was about to ask for a table for them before she sighed in dismay to see Brock holding the waitress's hand with a big smile on his face, a blush streaking across his face and his eyes having been replaced with bright pink hearts.

"You can sure help me. I've been searching for a woman who can fill my appetite for love and you just so happen to fill my bill!" Brock gushed. The waitress stared in stunned silence while Misty looked down on the floor with her head in her hand and letting out a small sigh of dismay; it was obvious that Brock hadn't changed a bit. "I would like a full course meal: one part affection, one part attention and the rest your unconditional love!" Brock continued. However, he was stopped by Misty grabbing him harshly by the ear and pulling him back away.

"Right now, the only meal you need is one of self-control, which I'm more than happy to provide." Misty retorted. Not letting go of Brock's ear, she then turned to the waitress who had more or less recovered from Brock's display. "I would like a table for two, please." Misty said. The waitress brightly smiled and nodded.

"Of course. Come right this way." The waitress replied. She then started to walk off toward a free table and Misty followed not too far behind dragging Brock along with her, while Brock was complaining the whole way there. "Ow, ow! Not the ear!" Brock groaned. Misty didn't pay him any notice as this was a common thing from him. As the two were making their way to their table, they unknowingly passed by Ash and May who were still busy eating.

As Ash was munching his dish, his eyes suddenly widened as he felt like someone familiar just walked past without him realising it. He then looked behind his shoulder to notice two people walking to a free table and when he looked closer, he could see that the woman was holding the man tight by the ear. _'I know only two people who would be like this. That couldn't be who I think it is, right? Is that...Brock and Misty? They were able to come here too?' _Ash thought to himself. It seemed almost too good to be true to Ash; he had heard from Brock and Misty that they had their own agendas to attend to. So then...how come they were here? Was it possible that they found a way to come to Hoenn and travel with him again? His thoughts were interrupted when he heard May talking to him.

"Ash, is everything okay? What's the matter?" May asked. Ash quickly turned his glance back to May and nodded with a smile.

"Oh, I just thought I spotted someone familiar behind us. But it was nothing to worry about." Ash replied. May was silent hearing Ash's response before she nodded in understanding. After a few seconds, Ash got up from his seat and walked over to May. "So, what do you say we get started on that shopping? We might as well get it done while we're still here." Ash suggested. May brightly smiled and nodded in agreement, so she climbed out of their seat and they started to make their way out of the restaurant, but not before returning their Pokemon back to their Pokeballs. Once they stepped out back into the city, Ash and May both looked around wondering where to get started. "So, where can we find the shops from here?" Ash asked with Pikachu having jumped back up on his shoulder.

"Well, let's check, shall we?" May asked in response as she grabbed the guidebook from her bag. She then opened the book up to the map of Petalburg City and she and Ash looked down at the map so they knew where to go. "Let's see. From here, the shops are...this way." May said, trailing her finger across the map showing the direction for them to go and then pointing at their destination.

"Well then, let's get going!" Ash said. May nodded in agreement and the two started to make their way through the city now having their destination in mind. As the two were walking down the street, May looked over at Ash; she had a question that she didn't get a chance to ask while they were still at the restaurant, so she figured that now would be a good time to ask it.

"Hey, Ash?" she asked. "Yeah? What's up?" Ash asked in response, looking over at May wondering what was up.

"I know that this might be a bit personal, but..." May paused for a few seconds to think over how to ask this question properly before she continued. "If you ever gave it a thought, what kind of girl would you like in your life?"

Ash then looked down and slowly started scratching his chin as he mulled it over. That was actually a good question once he really started to think about it. Who would he want to have in his life once he was ready? That was something he never seemed to think about during his past travels, mostly because the subject matter was something he just couldn't make sense of. But now that it was starting to make more sense, that question seemed to not be as tricky to think about as it once seemed to be. Once he had some time to ponder it over, Ash looked back at May. "Well, that's not a very easy question for me. But in my honest opinion, the type of girl I would like to be with is someone I know I can rely on. I would like to be with someone who will always stay by my side wherever I go and support me no matter what happens. I would also like for that girl to love and care for Pokemon as much as I do, and never give up no matter how tough things might get. And I know this might sound selfish on my part, but I would love for that girl to be...well, almost like you." Ash explained. May was silent as she listened to Ash's explanation and she simply nodded in understanding hearing all of this. However, she didn't seem to notice that her smile was slowly getting bigger while Ash was talking and she also felt her cheeks starting to glow red; that was the effect Ash seemed to have on her, and that was something that she loved. Seemingly not noticing this, Ash then turned to May. "What about you? Who would you like to have in your life?" he asked. May nearly jumped hearing that she was being asked that question; she simply wanted to know what kind of girl Ash would like to have, and she didn't expect for him to turn right around and ask her about that. But she figured that maybe she should answer as well so he wouldn't be left wondering.

"Oh, that's not as tricky for me. The kind of boy I would imagine having is someone who will always like me for who I am, and someone who will always stay by my side no matter what challenges we would face. I would imagine him as someone who would keep me safe and support me even when things might get tough. I would also love for that boy to have a kind heart, someone who will always put others' needs before his own and never be afraid to put himself in danger to help others, even the ones he loves. So, in other words, the type of boy I would like to have...would be someone like you, Ash." May replied looking over at Ash with a bright smile. Just like how May was for him, Ash was silent as he listened to May and then he showed a big smile and nodded in understanding.

"Well, I hope you'll be able to find that someone for you soon." Ash commented. May looked over at Ash with her bright smile retained on her face; it seemed that her chances of understanding how Ash felt about her were starting to become clearer as she was asking him about his feelings on the matter without directly letting it out, and from the sound of things, her chances were now very likely.

"He's a lot closer than you think he is, Ash. In fact...he's right next to me." May quietly said to herself as she continued to look at Ash. Ash then turned his glance to May with an expression of surprise, wondering if she just said something. May nearly jumped and she quickly became flustered as she realised that Ash might have heard her just say that, and then she quickly showed a nervous smile. "Uh, I-I didn't say anything! I was just...talking to myself about...how you might be right about that! Y-yeah, that's right." May quickly said before starting to laugh nervously. She then smacked her head into her hand and slowly shook her head wondering if she had unintentionally blown her own cover. She then slowly looked back up at Ash to see him showing a smile of understanding.

"That's good to hear." Ash commented with Pikachu nodding in agreement. "(Yeah, I know. That's good to know, isn't it?)" Pikachu asked. May then lifted her head back up and simply nodded, and she had a smile of relief knowing that she was still in the clear. The two then looked to see that they had arrived in the district where the shops were.

"Look, May. We're here. Now we can start looking for the shops we need to go to." Ash said. May nodded in agreement, so the two turned to the district and started to look around trying to find where to buy food and medicine. As May was having a look for herself, a bright smile crossed her face as she noticed one shop in particular and immediately ran over to have a look. Ash turned his head to notice May and he quickly headed after her to catch up to find her looking through the glass window of a fashion shop. "May, what's up?" Ash asked as he stopped once he caught up with her. He then lifted his head up to see what she was looking at and noticed that on the other side of the window, there were accessories as well as jewellery and clothing items being displayed at the front window.

"Look at that, Ash. They have all the latest styles available. Aren't they great?" May asked as she was happily looking through the window. Ash was silent, but he simply nodded in agreement; he decided that it would be best to not try and interrupt May while she was doing window shopping. May then had a look to see the jewellery being displayed. "And those accessories are beautiful too." she added having a look at the displays with a big smile on her face.

"Uh, May? Before we start doing any clothes shopping, don't you think that maybe we should stock up on supplies first?" Ash suggested. May happily turned to the store seemingly not paying any attention to Ash's words. "Don't worry, Ash. We'll get to that. But for now, it's the time for fashion!" she happily replied. With this, she started to head into the store, but stopped when she saw that Ash wasn't following her. May turned around and stepped back outside to see that Ash was leaning up against the window waiting. "And what's up with you? How come you aren't coming along?" May asked placing her hands against her hips with an expression of annoyance.

Ash turned to see May's annoyed expression and he showed a nervous smile; he didn't want to say it out loud, but he really didn't want to get involved with May's shopping and possibly slow her down. So he decided to tell her that in a way that wouldn't upset her. "Well, I figured that maybe I should stay out here and wait until you were finished. Because, you know, this is something you want to do and I might end up not enjoying it as much. So you can go on ahead and have a look around and I'll wait here until you're done." Ash explained. May didn't seem convinced, however, because she showed a bright smile and shook her head.

"Oh no, you don't. If we're going to do any shopping, we're doing it together. Now come in with me, tough guy!" May replied before she grabbed Ash by the hand and pulled him inside with her. Once they were inside, May started cheerfully walking around the store trying to find things that would interest her while Ash looked down at the floor with an expression of dismay written all over his face.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Ash sighed. Pikachu looked over at his partner and started patting his head with a reassuring smile. "(Don't worry, Ash. You'll get through this, just like you do with any other challenge that comes your way.)" Pikachu explained. Ash glanced up at his friend and showed a small smile before nodding once; he could tell that Pikachu was right. This shouldn't be too hard for him to get through, unless May decided to go overboard. That was something he was hoping wouldn't happen. Surprisingly, none of those fears came to pass as May walked back over to him.

"All right, what say we start looking for those supplies now?" she asked. She then headed out of the store and started to make her way down the street while Ash and Pikachu stared at each other in stunned silence for a few seconds before Ash promptly turned around and ran after May to catch up with her. Once the two were now walking beside one another, Ash turned to May in surprise.

"You mean you weren't going to buy anything?" he asked. May showed a big smile and simply shook her head. "No. I was just doing a bit of browsing. That's what I always do whenever I come across a clothes shop, and I usually continue on my way if nothing interests me there. But when I do find something that interests me, that's when I start to go a bit overboard with the shopping. It's what I always say: you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl!" May cheerfully replied. Ash stared in silence before he quietly sighed in relief. He felt so glad that May hadn't decided to go too far this time around, although he had a feeling she would do so once they arrived in Rustboro City. If looking at the map in the guidebook was anything to go by, Rustboro City seemed to be miles bigger than Petalburg City and it would probably have more shops as well. That would be when Ash would really be in trouble.

"All right then, let's start having a look around for supplies." Ash said deciding not to mention what he was thinking about when they arrived in Rustboro City to May. May turned to Ash and nodded in agreement, and so the two continued their way down the district to find some shops that would sell things like food and medicine.

Back with Brock and Misty, they were heading out of the restaurant after finishing their lunch. "I don't understand it. I was certain I saw Ash as we were heading to our table. But the minute I decide to go and see for myself, he's nowhere to be seen! How does that work?" Misty asked; she was going off on another one of her tangents, it seemed. It also didn't help that Misty noticed that there was someone else sitting with Ash, someone that she had never seen before. Brock, on the other hand, knew that them remaining in Petalburg City wasn't going to help their search much, so he looked over at Misty having an idea.

"Well, I don't think Ash is in Petalburg City anymore. How about we keep going to Route 104? I bet we'll be able to catch up with him there." Brock suggested. Misty showed a smile at this idea and nodded in agreement.

"That sounds good to me. I just hope he hasn't already rushed off ahead like he always does." Misty replied. So that, the two started to head off down the road leading out of Petalburg City towards Route 104.

Back with Ash and May, they were having a look around the stores picking out things to buy. "Well, one thing's for certain, we have plenty of Berries to keep us going for the time being. What else do you think we'll need to get?" May asked as she looked over at Ash who was searching through one of the shelves. Ash then turned to May and showed something he was holding in his hand: it was a spray bottle filled with purple medicine.

"We'll definitely need Potions, that much is sure." Ash replied. May nodded in agreement and then she looked back at the shelf she was scanning to see that there were cans of Pokemon food on the lower parts of the shelf.

"Check it out, Ash! I found a whole bunch of Pokemon food! I'll grab what we need from here and you can keep looking for medicine supplies." May called. Ash nodded in agreement, so he started to pick up a stack of Potions while May grabbed some cans of Pokemon food. Sometime later, the two were now on their way out of Petalburg City having gotten everything they needed.

"Well, that was certainly an eventful day. I'd say we got everything we need on our road to Rustboro." Ash commented as they were walking down the road leading to Route 104. May looked over at Ash and nodded in agreement; this day ended up being longer than she suspected it would be, but she had enjoyed every minute of it.

"I know, right? I bet the route to Rustboro is going to hold a lot of challenges facing our way." May said. "Yeah, I bet it will. But just keep in mind that no matter what we come across, we'll face it together." Ash replied looking over at May.

May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. She couldn't agree more with Ash on that; no matter what lay ahead of them, they wouldn't be alone. They would face those challenges together, and they would now be on their way towards Rustboro City.


	6. Reunion on Route 104

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 6: Reunion on Route 104 **

Ash and May were continuing their trek on the road leading out of Petalburg City and heading towards Route 104. As the two were walking, Ash turned his head to see that May was looking down at the PokeNav she was holding in her hands and was pressing various parts of it with her fingers. "May, what are you doing?" Ash asked with an expression of puzzlement on his face. May looked up from the PokeNav to notice that Ash was staring at her in confusion, wondering what she was doing and then she showed a bright smile.

"Oh, I'm trying to figure out what other functions the PokeNav has. I know that it can show a map of the Hoenn region, but I'm trying to see if I can work out what else it can do." May replied pointing down at the PokeNav so Ash knew what she was up to. Ash looked down at the device to notice that the screen showing the map was up and was trailing their route and from the looks of things, it seemed that May had been at this for at least a few good minutes.

"Uh, May? I don't think Max will be too happy if you end up breaking his PokeNav." Ash commented showing a nervous smile at May's efforts. "(Yeah, that's right. I can imagine he won't be too thrilled to see that.)" Pikachu agreed slowly nodding in agreement with Ash's comment. May stared at the two in disbelief before she showed a confident smile; what made the two think that she was going to break something that she knew was important to her brother?

"Oh, you two worry too much. I'm not going to break it; I'm just trying to see what other functions it has." May replied. She seemed to sound very certain about her words; it wasn't like she was careless with items or anything. However, her words were proven wrong when she ended up losing her grip on the PokeNav, causing it to start dropping towards the ground. Fortunately, Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and landed on the ground before safely catching the PokeNav in his paws. He and Ash then both turned their gazes to May who showed a nervous smile and started rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "On second thoughts, forget I said that." May quickly added before she bent down to retrieve the PokeNav from Pikachu, who then jumped back up onto Ash's shoulder. "Thanks for that, Pikachu." May then said looking over at Pikachu with a thankful smile.

"(No problem.)" Pikachu replied, showing a bright smile as he was more than happy to help out. As the two Trainers continued their way down the path, they looked up to notice a white sign with light blue coloured words painted on it that said 'Route 104'. They then couldn't help themselves smiling as they looked up at the sign; that meant they were now at their next destination. They were finally out of Petalburg City and heading towards Petalburg Woods, which would then take them towards Rustboro City.

"All right, we're here! That means we're now one step closer to getting to Rustboro City." Ash commented with a big smile showing on his face and turning to May while he was saying this. Pikachu happily nodded in agreement showing a big smile of his own. May couldn't help herself nodding in agreement as well; while that step forward was minor, it was a step nonetheless. So with this, Ash and May both turned their attention to the road ahead of them and resumed walking as they came towards Route 104.

At the same time as Ash and May, Brock and Misty were coming towards Route 104 as well; they figured that since their search in Petalburg City proved to be fruitless, they decided to continue on ahead thinking that maybe they would be able to catch up with Ash there. "I hope we'll be able to catch up with Ash soon. I don't know about what you think, but I'm getting exhausted trying to catch up with him. As soon as we find him, I'm going to give him a good lecture for making us walk all the time just trying to find him!" Misty commented with a smile on her face as she started that sentence which slowly turned into an expression of annoyance at Ash for all of the walking that he had unintentionally made her and Brock do. Brock looked over at Misty while she was rambling on and he couldn't help himself showing a smile of amusement; he wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about seeing her get upset at Ash over something that wasn't even his fault he found amusing. Of course, Brock didn't find it as funny when he ended up getting involved with Misty's outbursts of anger, especially when he ended up as one of the victims, but the incidents that weren't intentional was something that he found to be quite entertaining. Then again, Brock wouldn't ever tell Misty that out loud; he could only imagine how she would respond if she ever learnt that.

"Don't worry, Misty. I'm sure we'll be able to catch up with him here. Besides, if we saw him back at the restaurant, that means he mustn't be too far ahead of us by now." Brock replied. He could see that Misty was subdued for the moment after he said that, because her frown was replaced with a bright smile and then she turned to him and nodded in agreement. As the two then turned their attention back to the path ahead, Misty suddenly noticed something up ahead and immediately stepped forward, accidently pushing Brock aside in the process, and then she stopped and leaned forward to have a closer look.

"Hey, Brock. Is that who I think it is?" Misty asked. Brock walked over to where Misty was standing, after recovering from nearly getting shoved aside by her, and had a look with her to see that there were two figures walking side by side. As Misty had a closer examination, she could see that it was the brunette she noticed earlier and right beside her was Ash. A big smile immediately showed on Misty's face as she recognized the Trainer not too far ahead of them: without any doubts, it was Ash. "It is! There's Ash! We finally caught up with him! Come on, let's hurry!" Misty cheered jumping up in the air in excitement before she started to rush off leaving Brock behind.

"Hey, Misty, wait up!" Brock called before he started to run after Misty to catch up with her. Meanwhile with Ash and May, they were now walking through Route 104, their next stop on the road towards Rustboro. As the two were heading down the path, May turned her head to the side and a bright smile showed on her face, and then she turned back to Ash and tugged on his sweatshirt sleeve to get his attention.

"Ash, check that out!" May said pointing towards the direction she was looking in. Ash had a look with her to see what was up and he could see that the sun was starting to disappear over the horizon and the once clear blue sky was instead being painted a colour of bright orange and purple. "Doesn't the sunset look amazing when you get a great view of it?" May asked, her eyes growing wide as she and Ash turned to watch the sunset from where they were. Ash slowly started to smile as he noticed the display in front of them and simply nodded in agreement; he couldn't deny that the sunset did look great once he and May were looking at it from where they were. He then turned his glance to May to see her looking at the evening sky with a bright smile and her eyes wide in awe. He could tell that so far, she was enjoying their journey together and that was something he wanted to see. Nothing made a journey better than having a great time, and it was certainly obvious in May's case.

"I think it's starting to get late. Why don't we find somewhere to rest for today? We'll be ready to head to Petalburg Woods tomorrow morning." Ash suggested. May looked over at Ash and nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a plan to me." she replied. The two were then about to keep going so they could find a good place at rest at, but they stopped when they heard two voices behind them.

"Hey, Ash! Wait for us!" "Don't you think about going off ahead without us!" Hearing those two voices, Ash and May both turned around and then they looked at each other in confusion wondering the same thing.

"Who was that?" May asked. "I'm not sure. But both of those voices sounded familiar." Ash replied giving a shrug in response. He then turned his glance to the direction those two voices came from and squinted his eyes to see if he could have a better look. "Could that be who I think it is?" Ash wondered, while Pikachu had a look with him wondering what the problem was. May simply looked at Ash with an expression of puzzlement as she didn't know what he was talking about, and then she turned her glance to have a look with him. After about a few seconds, the pair could see two figures coming closer into view. As their features became more noticeable, a bright smile slowly showed on Ash's face. "I thought I noticed something familiar. It's Brock and Misty!" Ash immediately exclaimed recognizing the two coming towards him and May in an instant. Pikachu quickly showed a big smile as well and he started waving so Brock and Misty could see them. "(Hey, guys! We've over here!)" Pikachu called. As if they saw Pikachu waving to them, Brock and Misty kept running over until they stopped once they were standing in front of Ash and May.

"Hey, we made it! It's great to see you." Misty commented. Togepi cheerfully chirped in Misty's arms and she and Brock both showed bright smiles; they were back and ready to travel with Ash again.

Ash simply stared in silence unable to believe what he was seeing. There, standing right in front of him were Brock and Misty. It seemed almost too good to be true for him, but somehow his doubts were being proven wrong. "Guys...I can't believe you made it. I thought you said you wouldn't be able to come with me to Hoenn." Ash was able to say after about a few seconds of silence. May was watching and she couldn't help herself wondering what was going on. She then turned her glance to Brock and Misty and her eyes nearly went wide; something did seem familiar about them once she looked more carefully.

"Well, it looks like we caught you by surprise, didn't we? There's no way we were just going to sit by and watch you travel alone, right?" Misty teasingly asked in response. Ash nodded in agreement; while he wasn't sure how Brock and Misty were able to come here yet, he was glad they were able to make it. As with May, she then slowly stepped forward nearly pushing Ash aside to make sure she was actually seeing this right.

"Wait a second. I remember seeing you two... You were at the restaurant Ash and I were in!" May nearly exclaimed as she pointed to Brock and Misty, having recognized them. Brock and Misty stared at May in puzzlement, wondering not only how she saw them there, but also who this new girl was. Ash could see the expressions of confusion on their faces so he decided that it was up to him to clear this whole thing up, so he walked over so he was standing beside May, who turned her head to notice him.

"I guess I should introduce everyone to each other. Guys, I'd like you to meet May. She's starting her journey here in Hoenn and we've been travelling together currently." Ash explained placing his hand around May's shoulder. May could feel her cheeks start to glow seeing this and then she looked over at Brock and Misty and showed a bright smile before happily waving to them. "Hi there. It's nice to meet you both." May said. Misty showed a small frown seeing Ash's act of intimacy towards May before she replaced it with a smile as she waved back to May.

"Pleased to meet you too, May! My name's Misty and down here is my little Pokemon, Togepi." Misty replied looking down at the little Egg Togepi in her arms who then happily chirped as a greeting to May. "And I'm Brock. It's great to meet you." Brock added. Pikachu turned his head to see Togepi in Misty's arms and a big smile showed on his face before he jumped off Ash's shoulder to see her.

"(Togepi! I'm so happy to see you again!)" Pikachu happily said. Togepi looked down to see Pikachu on the ground and then she jumped out of Misty's arms and ran over to Pikachu with a smile on her face. "(Hi, Pikachu. I've been looking forward to seeing you and Ash again while we were on our way here.)" Togepi explained. She then waddled over and wrapped her tiny arms around Pikachu, which he noticed and gently wrapped his arms around her, making sure he wasn't doing it too tight so he wouldn't accidently hurt her. Misty looked down at the two Pokemon and couldn't help herself giggling before she looked over at Brock.

"I guess Togepi really missed Pikachu." Misty commented, to which Brock nodded in agreement. May looked down at Togepi with an expression of interest and then she grabbed her Pokedex out from her bag and opened it up to learn some more information. "Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokemon. Togepi is said to exude a relaxing aura that grows stronger when treated nicely." The Pokedex explained. May stared down at the Pokedex in silence before she placed it back in her bag and bent down to look at Togepi, who was happily talking to Pikachu.

"Hi there, Togepi." May said. Togepi looked back and forth wondering who was talking to her, before she turned around to see May looking at her with a smile on her face. "It's really nice to meet you. My name's May. You know, you're such an adorable Pokemon. I know I keep saying that I don't really like them, but I'm starting to realise how wrong I was about that. And how could I not like you? You're so cute!" May explained with her smile growing brighter while she was talking. Togepi quietly listened to May and she showed a big smile at May's opinion of how adorable she was, and then she ran over and jumped into May's arms, which initially caught her by surprise, but then the smile returned to her face seeing how happy Togepi was. "Oh, look at you. How could anyone not fall for such a cute, cheerful ball of happiness?" May asked. She then stood upright, holding Togepi in her arms and started tickling Togepi's stomach which caused the Spike Ball Pokemon to start giggling. While May was doing this, giggling to herself all the while, she didn't notice that Ash was watching her with a bright smile on his face. After a few seconds, Togepi jumped out of May's arms and ran back over to Misty who bent down and picked her up, holding her in her arms again.

"You must really love Pokemon, huh, May?" Misty asked looking back up at Ash and May after making sure that Togepi was back comfortably in her arms. May stared in surprise hearing that question, and then she looked down rubbing her left arm in uncertainty which caused Misty to look at her with an expression of confusion wondering what had gotten into her. Ash turned his head to see this and then he showed a smile as he knew what the deal was with May, and he turned his glance over to Brock and Misty.

"Well, May says she doesn't, but her actions speak otherwise." Ash explained. He then looked over at May with that bright smile, to which she turned her glance to him; he knew what the real deal was when it came to May and her relationship with Pokemon at the moment. May then showed a bright smile, as she knew that Ash could tell as well. The two then looked back over at Brock and Misty as Ash decided to get a few formalities out of the way. "This is also something else you won't believe, May. Brock and Misty are actually the Gym Leaders of the Pewter City Gym and Cerulean City Gym in Kanto, respectively." Ash said.

May's mouth nearly dropped wide open upon hearing this, and then a big smile showed on her face and her eyes went wide in awe. "No way... You get to travel with Gym Leaders?! That's so cool!" May exclaimed. Ash nearly jumped back hearing May's outburst of excitement and he looked over at Pikachu, who had jumped back up onto his shoulder, as if to ask if Pikachu was seeing this right as well. May then looked over at Brock and Misty with her expression of awe still plastered on her face to see that they were both staring at her in surprise. She then suddenly realised the way she was acting, and she rapidly shook her head to snap herself out of that state before she looked back at Brock and Misty with an expression of concern. "I'm sorry about that. I get it from my little brother." May quietly said. Brock and Misty then smiled in understanding hearing this and shook their heads to say that they weren't bothered by May's excited reaction.

"That's okay. I wouldn't blame you, though. I bet that even Ash can't believe that himself." Brock replied. "Though in technicality, I'm not actually the Gym Leader. I just help keep the Gym in check whenever my sisters aren't available. And even then, if I know them well enough, they're more interested in putting on water shows then actually battling. It's a wonder that the Gym's been running for as long as it has." Misty explained with an expression of dismay showing on her face as she recalled how her sisters, Daisy, Lily and Violet were when it came to running the Gym over there. Ash couldn't help himself nodding in agreement with Misty; he still remembered what happened when he first got there clear as day. Of course, that was back at the start of his journey and Ash wasn't anywhere near as experienced as he was now, but that was still a day he looked back on and wondered how it even turned out how it did. He then decided to find a way to take his mind off that subject, and apparently Brock agreed with him on that because he looked over at May.

"I'll bet you want to become a Gym Leader too, right?" Brock asked. "Well, if I'm being honest, I'm not entirely sure what I want to do yet. I mean, my Dad is the Petalburg Gym Leader, but I can't decide on whether or not to follow in his footsteps or do my own thing. It's kind of a tough decision for me since I'm just starting out, if you know what I'm trying to say." May replied, turning her glance down with an expression of uncertainty; that was something she still hadn't made her mind up about yet. Ash turned his glance to see May looking down, uncertain of what she wanted to do on her journey, and then he gently wrapped his arm around her causing her to look over at him.

"Don't you worry, May. Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll find something you enjoy doing. It doesn't even need to be competing in the Hoenn League, as much as I'm looking forward to that. It just needs to be something that you want to do and something you personally love." Ash explained. Pikachu nodded in agreement showing a bright smile; he couldn't agree more with Ash on that stance. May stared at Ash in silence for a few moments before a smile slowly showed on her face and she nodded in agreement; she knew that Ash was right. If she found something that she liked and enjoyed, she would do it regardless of what it would be.

Brock and Misty both watched the two with a smile and then Misty showed a frown; there was something that she still needed to address with Ash, something that she had expressed her frustrations over while she and Brock were in Petalburg City. "Now that we have the formalities out of the way..." Misty said. She then showed Togepi to Brock, who decided to hold her in his arms for the time being since he knew what was going to happen, before marching right over to Ash who turned his glance to her as he and May were wondering what was up. "You have a lot of nerve trying to pull a stunt like that, Ash Ketchum." Misty simply stated. Ash took a step backward seeing Misty's expression of anger while May was staring in surprise at the mention of Ash's last name. _'His last name is Ketchum?' _May asked herself. Then again, since this was coming from a girl who had Maple as her last name, May decided that she wasn't going to complain.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Ash asked. He knew that expression of anger that was written all over Misty's face; that was an expression she only showed whenever he did something that she thought was stupid or reckless, or there was something she didn't personally agree with. "You should know perfectly well!" Misty suddenly snapped, prompting Ash to jump back from alarm. He hadn't done anything wrong yet as far as he could tell, so what was Misty getting all up in arms about this time?

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't know. Would you care to fill me in?" Ash asked in response, standing upright so he was staring Misty in the eyes fearlessly as she glared at him. Brock and May both looked at each other before they turned to watch this scene, with May showing an expression of concern as she wondered what Ash could have done to have gotten Misty so worked up at him like this.

"Brock and I were walking all over Petalburg City looking for you, but you were nowhere to be seen. I felt like we had been walking around in that city for hours on end! Do you have any idea how exhausting and time-wasting that was for us searching for someone who didn't want to make himself seen? It's frustrating and patience-testing, to say the least! What do you have to say for yourself for that?" Misty snapped. Ash simply stared at her with an expression of anger slowly showing on his face. He wasn't even aware that she and Brock were able to come with him until now, so what right did Misty have to yell at him for something that wasn't even his fault? Ash started to angrily growl under his breath as the temptation to snap back at Misty built up inside him...until something in his mind suddenly said that it wasn't worth it. The expression of anger faded almost immediately from Ash's face as he realised that he couldn't let his own frustrations get the better of him; that only made things worse. He had to use a different method to get his point across without getting into a pointless argument with Misty, and he had a feeling he knew what it was. So with this, Ash quietly took a deep breath and waited for a few seconds before slowly letting it out. As soon as he did that, Ash found that his frustrations now felt like they were nonexistent. He then looked back up at Misty who was still glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, Misty. But I'll say this in my defence: I didn't even know that you and Brock were able to make it until I saw you back at Petalburg City. And even then, you didn't notice me." Ash calmly replied. Misty's expression of anger quickly softened and it was replaced with one of surprise, not only because of the fact that Ash didn't know she and Brock were coming, but also from the fact that he didn't snap back at her like he usually would have done. Misty honestly couldn't believe what she was seeing; was Ash...actually starting to grow up? After about a few seconds, Misty was able to speak.

"You mean you didn't get the message I sent you when we arrived at Oldale Town?" Misty asked. Ash simply shook his head in response. Misty then continued to stare in disbelief, unable to completely register that Ash wasn't yelling at her like he would have back in Kanto; instead, he was simply talking to her and addressing his side of the argument in a mature manner. This was honestly a real shock to the system for Misty, because this was a huge far cry from the immature, reckless, oblivious Trainer she had come to know. "Well, how come you didn't say so?" she asked.

"Because you didn't give me a chance to." Ash replied. While this was happening, Brock and May were both watching in surprise and the two looked at each other with Brock wondering the same thing that Misty was: was this really Ash who was saying all of this? As she could tell that this was getting a bit too tense for her own good, May decided to try and help lighten the mood up.

"Say, Misty? Is it all right if I get to see what other Pokemon you and Brock have?" May suggested. Brock and Misty both looked over at May and nodded in agreement with this idea, and then Brock grabbed out the one Pokeball he had while Misty opened her bag up and grabbed out four. However, one of the four opened before Misty could throw it and out came a bright yellow duck-like Pokemon with three big black strands of hair on its head and it had its flippers held against each side of its head. Seeing this, Misty placed her hands against her hips with a frown of agitation.

"Psyduck, how many times do I have to say it? Don't come out of your Pokeball until I say so!" Misty snapped. Psyduck slowly turned around over to Misty and tilted his head to the side with a blank expression on his face, like he had no idea what Misty was talking about. Misty glared at Psyduck for a few seconds before she let out a sigh of dismay and smacked her head into her spare hand. "Why did I ever let you come along with me?" she asked, slowly shaking her head. She then lifted her head up and showed a bright smile as she threw the other three Pokeballs she had with her. "Come on out, everyone! There's a new friend to meet!" Misty called. The three Pokeballs opened to reveal a small blue seahorse-like Pokemon with a single dorsal fin and a tightly curled tail, red eyes, a cream coloured ridged belly and dorsal fin, a long tubular mouth and three spike-like projections on either side of its head, a violet sea star-like Pokemon with a gold formation on its front and a red jewel in the centre of its body which was cut in the shape of a precious stone and a second set of semi-attached arms and a white fish-like Pokemon with orange markings on its tail, back and fins, a thin dorsal fin and long pectoral fins, a caudal fin that billowed very much like a ballroom dress, sea blue eyes, pink lips and a large horn on its forehead; the Pokemon were Horsea, Starmie and Goldeen.

As with Brock, he threw the one Pokeball he had which opened to reveal a large, spherical Pokemon with no visible limbs; the upper and lower halves of its body were capped by bumpy steel plates which were opened along the back and front to reveal its smooth, red inner shell which was punctuated by four cylindrical spikes, each tapering to an open point and its eyes were round with large pupils; it was Forretress. The four Pokemon all landed safely on the ground and looked up at Ash and May.

May looked down at the Pokemon in silence and then a big smile of awe immediately crossed her face. "Wow, all of these Pokemon look so awesome! I've never seen them up close like this before!" she happily exclaimed. She then grabbed her Pokedex out of her bag and opened it up to find out about all the Pokemon presented in front of her. While May was busy doing that, Ash turned his glance back to Brock and Misty with an expression of puzzlement on his face.

"How come you guys are out here, anyway? I thought you were both heading back to Pewter City and Cerulean City so you could run the Gyms there again." Ash commented; as happy as he was that Brock and Misty were here to see him again, he was still wondering how they were able to come in the first place. "Well, I did head back to Pewter City and everything was fine. So I thought I'd come out to Hoenn and see if I could find you." Brock explained. Ash nodded in understanding at Brock's explanation and then looked over at Misty.

"What about you, Misty? How were you able to find a way to get here?" Ash asked. Misty showed a bright smile hearing this question and then she lifted her head up to look at the approaching night sky and placed her hands behind her head. "It's funny you should ask that, Ash. That's something I really would never like to forget." Misty commented as she remembered what happened that allowed her to come here to Hoenn to travel again...

_It had been some time since Misty's battle against the Invincible Pokemon Brothers and she was now getting ready to resume running the Gym while her sisters were away on their world tour. "Well, Togepi, it looks like it's time to start getting to work with training the Pokemon in this Gym. We're all going to have to be in top shape if we're going to run this Gym successfully." Misty commented looking down at Togepi resting comfortably in her arms. She then looked up and let out a silent sigh of dismay; as much as she didn't want to admit it out loud, she really didn't want to leave Ash and Brock. She really wanted to travel with them again, but she knew that she didn't have a choice in the matter at the moment. For now, it was up to her to take charge and be the strong Gym Leader she knew she could be. As she started to make her way to the Gym arena, Misty heard the front door open and turned her head wondering who that could be. "Yes?" she asked as she walked over to the front door._

_Misty was then caught off guard when she saw who was stepping inside: it was none other than Daisy, Lily and Violet. "Hi, little sis! We thought you would have been here later." Daisy cheerfully said as she waved to Misty, who was starting with an expression of surprise at the sight of the three sisters back at the Gym._

"_How come you're all there? I would have thought you'd be off having the time of your lives at that world tour by now." Misty commented. Daisy simply showed a smile hearing this. "Oh yeah, about that. I decided to skip on the whole world tour." she replied._

_Misty continued to stare in surprise wondering why Daisy did that; she had a fairly good guess, but she decided not to let her excitement get the better of her just yet. "Why's that?" she asked. Daisy then turned her glance to Misty as her smile grew larger, which meant she had some exciting news. "There's someone I'd like you to see, Mist. I think you'll recognize him." Daisy continued. She then turned to look at the open entrance, while Misty looked over Daisy's shoulder wondering who else was here._

_After about a few seconds, a young fifteen year old with short moss green hair with a red headband underneath, black eyes and wearing a light green t-shirt with blue sleeves and a blue collar, dark red shorts and purple sneakers with a yellow centre stepped into the Gym: it was Tracey Sketchit. "Hey, Misty. It's been a while since we've seen each other, huh?" he asked, waving with a bright smile on his face._

_Misty nearly jumped from disbelief seeing Tracey; she had thought that he was on his way to help Professor Oak with his research. "Tracey! How come you're here? Weren't you going to go help Professor Oak?" she asked. Tracey couldn't help showing a smile of amusement noticing Misty's expression of disbelief seeing him here, so he figured it would be best to explain what was going on._

"_Well, I was heading there, but Gary is helping Professor Oak. So your sisters called me and asked if I would like to come help them instead." Tracey explained. Daisy then walked over to Tracey and grabbed hold of his arm before turning her glance back to Misty._

"_We've also got some exciting news for you, sis." Daisy added. Misty stared at Daisy and Tracey in silence for a few seconds, before a smile slowly showed on her face as she figured it out. "Wait a second... are you two?" Misty asked, as she pointed at Tracey and Daisy just to be sure she was hearing this right. _

_Daisy immediately nodded as if to say that Misty was right. "That's right, little sis. Tracey and I are dating!" she cheerfully replied. Tracey looked over at Daisy with a bright smile as she made this announcement and then he nearly took a step back as Daisy wrapped her arms around him just to make it clear they were together, but he wasn't bothered by this; that just meant she was excited to tell Misty._

_Misty was silent for a few seconds, before she immediately showed a bright smile and jumped in excitement at this news. "Wow, that's great! Congratulations, you two! I'm so happy for you both!" she happily exclaimed. Daisy and Tracey looked at each other and happily smiled hearing Misty's reaction; they were glad to hear her say that. Tracey then looked back at Misty, as he also had something else to tell her._

"_This also came for you, Misty." Tracey added. He then opened his bag and grabbed out a small white envelope and showed it to Misty. Misty grabbed the envelope from him and looked it wondering what it could be, before she opened it deciding to find out for herself. She then showed an expression of surprise as she saw there was a ferry ticket and lifted it up for them to see. "Have a look at where it's going to." Tracey then added._

_Misty looked at the ferry ticket, with her eyes trailing to read what it said before she looked back up at them. "It says that the ferry's going to the Hoenn Region." she said. She silently gasped as she caught her own words; that was where Ash was heading to. A smile then slowly crawled onto her face as she realised what that meant. "Does that mean I can...?" she turned to Tracey just to be sure this was true._

"_That's right, Misty. You can go with Ash to the Hoenn Region. The ferry leaves soon, so I'd recommend heading over there as soon as you can." Tracey replied. Misty couldn't believe what she was hearing; this was exactly what she wanted to do, and now she was getting her wishes come true. She then lifted her glance from the ferry ticket, having read it over a few times just to be certain that the destination was correct, and looked up at Daisy and Tracey before she ran over to them and hugged them tightly._

"_Wow, thanks, you two! Thank you so much!" Misty happily cheered. She then let go and looked back down at the ferry ticket to notice the time: the ferry she was supposed to get on was going to leave in a few minutes. "I better get over to the harbour otherwise I'll miss the ship. I've got to go. Thanks again, you guys!" Misty said. With this, she started to rush off with Togepi in her arms all the while before Daisy suddenly remembered something else and turned around to Misty._

"_Hold on a second, sis!" Daisy called. Misty stopped running in her tracks and looked over at Daisy, wondering what was up now. "If you're going to a new region, you'll need a change of wardrobe. Luckily, I got something for you just for that reason." Daisy explained. With this, she lifted up a small brown box which was nearby and walked over to Misty before placing it down in front of her. Misty looked down at the box before bending down and opening it to see what was inside: there was a yellow sleeveless top with a dark blue collar along with matching yellow shorts and a dark red underall, as well as short pale and burnt orange ankle boots and a small backpack designed to look like a Spheal. "I got that for you in case you'd ever need it. And wouldn't you know it, now that you're heading out again it's just the right time for you to start wearing it!" Daisy commented. _

_Misty looked back up before she stood upright and lifted the box in her arms. "Thanks, Daisy. I'll get changed into it when I get on the ferry. And on that note, I've got to get going. See you later! And thanks again for the ferry ticket!" she explained as she turned and started to make her way towards the Gym door, but before looking back and waving while she said that._

"_No problem, sis! Go on ahead and have a great time!" Daisy replied as she, Lily, Violet and Tracey waved back. "And don't forget to let Ash know when you catch up with him!" Tracey added as the Gym door closed once Misty was far enough from it. _

"_I'll remember to do that!" Misty replied. She soon came to her bike and placed Togepi and the little box she had in the little basket, and then she jumped on and started to pedal towards the harbour to catch the ship leaving for Hoenn. "This is going to be great, Togepi. We're heading to a new region for a new adventure. And the best part is that's where Ash and Pikachu are; we'll get to see them again!" Misty commented looking down at Togepi. Togepi showed a bright smile and happily chirped in excitement at this; she was looking forward to seeing Pikachu. After about a few minutes of pedalling, Misty was out of Cerulean City and soon found herself at the port. She parked her bike nearby and jumped off, grabbing the box and Togepi in her arms and started to make her way over to the ship. As she got closer, she noticed that there was someone there._

"_Wonder who that could be?" Misty said to herself. As she walked over to have a better look, she could see that it was Brock and her smile quickly returned. "Hey, Brock! I'm over here!" Misty called, waving to let him know where she was before starting to run over._

_Brock, who was staring up at the ship to make sure that he was getting on the right one, could hear someone calling him and turned his head to see who it was. A smile then crossed his face when he noticed that it was Misty, who stopped running once she came to him. "Misty? How come you're here?" he asked._

"_I could ask you the same question. Weren't you heading back to Pewter City?" Misty asked in response. "I did head back, and everything was fine. So I thought I'd see if I could catch up with Ash and travel with him. What about you?" Brock explained. Misty showed a big smile; she was excited to tell Brock this._

"_I'm doing the same thing! Daisy, Lily and Violet decided not to go on the world tour after all." Misty said. Brock showed an expression of surprise hearing this, but decided to let Misty continue so he could understand why that was. "You see, since Gary is helping Professor Oak with his research, Daisy called Tracey and asked him if he'd like to help them instead." Misty explained. Her smile then grew larger as she got to the best part about this. "And this is also something you won't believe: Daisy and Tracey are together! They just let me know of that when I got there." Misty then added. Brock simply stared in stunned silence at this news before a smile showed on his face._

"_Hey, that's great for the both of them! And it's great you could come along as well, Misty. I'll bet Hoenn will be a new experience for both of us." Brock commented. He then looked down to see the small box Misty had in her arms. "What's the box for?" he asked, pointing down at it. Misty looked down at the box before she looked up at him with a smile_

"_Oh, it's a new outfit my sisters got me; Daisy said that they had it in case I ever needed it. And it's good timing, too. These old clothes were starting to get a bit tight on me." Misty replied. _

"_Yeah, same here. Except I got ready before I left." Brock commented. "I can see that." Misty stated with a smile noticing the difference in Brock's uniform. The two then turned to see that everyone was starting to get on board the ship, so they decided they should do the same thing as well. After showing their ferry tickets, Brock and Misty boarded the ship and made their way to their room they were staying in during their trip towards Hoenn._

_A little later, the two were in their room; Misty was getting changed into her new outfit while Brock was waiting for her. After a few seconds, Misty stepped out of the bathroom wearing her new clothes. "What do you think, Brock? How do I look?" Misty asked, posing with one hand against her hip and the other behind the back of her head so she could get Brock's opinion on her new look. Brock looked over Misty for a few seconds before he showed a bright smile._

"_That looks great, Misty! I have to say, Daisy, Lily and Violet made a good choice deciding that new outfit for you. It really suits you." Brock said. Misty happily smiled at Brock's compliment and she couldn't help herself even giggling a little at this. She then looked down at Togepi, who had been waiting with Brock, and she could see that Togepi was showing a big smile; she liked the new outfit as well._

_But then, the two could hear the ship horn, which indicated that the ship was now departing from the port, and made their way towards the front deck and looked out from the balcony to see the ship was now leaving. As the ship was now heading across the ocean, Brock and Misty both looked out towards the open sea before looking over at each other. "It's hard to believe it; we're heading off to the Hoenn Region now. I can't imagine how Ash will respond when he hears this." Misty commented._

"_I'll bet he'll be in for a big surprise when we catch up with him." Brock said. Misty nodded in agreement, and then the two started to head off back to their room to relax during the trip there._

"And then once the ship arrived, we got off and now here we are." Misty said, having now finished up the whole story. Ash was simply silent for a few moments after hearing this before a bright smile showed on his face.

"That's great news to hear about Daisy and Tracey! I'll have to remember to call him when we find the nearest Pokemon Centre." Ash commented. Just then, May walked over having finished looking up both Brock and Misty's Pokemon, which the three in question turned their heads to notice.

"Brock, Misty, your Pokemon are all so amazing! I don't think I've ever seen any Pokemon like them before." May said. That was when Ash noticed something that he didn't initially; Forretress was the only Pokemon Brock brought along with him. "Brock, how come you didn't bring your other Pokemon with you?" Ash asked.

"Oh, I left them behind at the Gym so my brothers could train to run the Gym instead." Brock replied. Ash nodded in understanding; that made too much sense to him. The group of four then turned to look at the sky and noticed that the sun has disappeared over the horizon and stars were slowly starting to show in its place. "Well, it's starting to get a bit late. Who's up for setting up camp for the night?" Brock asked, as the four turned back to look at each other.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Ash replied. "Ash and I were about to do the same thing." May added. "I'm all up for it too." Misty agreed.

That night, Ash, May, Brock and Misty all sat together around the campfire they had set up and all of their Pokemon were sitting together as well; they had decided to rest near the entrance of Petalburg Woods so they would be ready to go tomorrow morning. "I find it hard to believe that you have three Pokemon in your team already, and you've just started your journey." Misty commented. May had shown her the three Pokemon she had: Torchic, Azurill and Ralts.

May happily nodded in agreement. "I know! Even I can't believe I've been able to do something like that. Then again, I did have someone helping me out with that." May replied, turning her glance over to Ash while she said that. Ash looked over at May and couldn't help himself showing a bright smile at her compliment.

"It was nothing, May. I'm always happy to help you whenever you need me to." Ash said. May happily nodded in agreement with this, as she couldn't agree more with Ash. The two then turned to see Larvitar run over to Ash and jump into his arms. "It was really a surprise for me to see Larvitar come with me here. I guess the little guy really missed me." Ash commented, turning to Brock and Misty while he said that.

"Yeah, I'd say so too." Brock agreed. "Then again, you're probably the only person that Larvitar won't freeze up at the sight of." Misty added, shrugging while Brock turned his head to look at her in surprise. Ash couldn't help showing a small frown at Misty's snarky comment, something that May noticed because she then looked over at Misty.

"Oh, give Ash a break, Misty. First you were yelling at him because he wasn't aware that you and Brock were coming, and now you're making a comment like that because Larvitar is only a baby. Do you think you could try to be a bit more supportive of Ash?" May asked. Ash lifted his head up in surprise listening to May back him up on this and then he showed a bright smile.

"Sorry. I guess I'm just the kind of person who's a bit too honest for my own good." Misty said. Ash looked at May with a smile of gratitude for her saying this, and she smiled back while winking as if to say that she was more than happy to help out. He then realised that he had something to ask that he had been wondering about for a bit now. "Say, May. I was wondering. How come it took you so long to start your journey? I got started when I was ten, but here you're thirteen and just starting. What's happened there?" Ash asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Oh yeah, about that. The age requirement for beginning Trainers was moved up from ten to thirteen, so that way they would have more time to prepare for when they got started." May explained.

"Is that a recent change?" Brock asked. "No. That's been around for a while now." May replied, shaking her head in response. The other three nodded in understanding; that made too much sense to them. After a few seconds of silence, Ash suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, what are we doing for dinner, guys? I'm starving!" Ash asked. Brock and Misty both stared at him in disbelief before they dropped off the log they were sitting on, while Ash and May looked down at them wondering if they were all right, before they jumped back up.

"Is there anything you can think of besides your stomach?" Misty asked. Ash nearly jumped seeing their faces of disbelief at his question and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Sorry. It's just that I haven't had anything to eat for a while today." Ash commented. May was watching this, and then she looked down to think for a few moments before a bright smile crossed her face as she had an idea.

"Hey, I know something we can have!" May happily said. Ash, Brock and Misty all turned to her wondering what idea she had in mind. With this, May grabbed her bag which she had placed down beside her and opened it up, and grabbed out a bunch of berries in her arms as well as four sticks for each of them. She then picked up a few berries and stuck them on the stick before she held it over the campfire. "Come on, guys. You do it too." May said, looking at the other three as they were wondering what she was doing. Ash, Brock and Misty looked at each other for a few moments before they followed suit, and then Ash suddenly showed a bright smile as he understood what May was doing.

"Oh yeah, that's right! May and I had these while we were out on Route 103 and we were camping for the night." Ash explained. Brock and Misty both listened in silence to Ash before they figured that if this was what the two had while they were out there, it must have been good. After a few seconds, the Berries were thoroughly cooked through and that meant the four were ready to eat. Misty noticed that Ash and May were both munching at their Berries like it was nothing.

"You guys really liked this that much?" she asked. "Of course! Come on, give it a try; I'm sure you'll both like it." May replied underneath a mouth full of berries. Ash, who had his mouth full as well, simply nodded in agreement to say that May was telling the truth. Misty stared at her berries before she took a bite out of one of them, and then a bright smile immediately crossed her face.

"You two were right! This is great!" Misty happily exclaimed. She then turned to Brock who had started eating his berries as well and she could see that he liked them as well. "What do you call these, anyway?" she asked, turning back to Ash and May.

"I call them Berry Kebabs. They're pretty nice, huh?" May asked. "You thought of a name for these?" Ash asked, having swallowed the berries he had in his mouth. May turned to him and nodded in agreement; she thought of the name while they were on Route 103, but she didn't remember until now.

"Well, I have to say that they're really delicious. But you should try one of Brock's meals; believe me when I say that you won't be disappointed." Misty commented.

"Brock cooks as well?" May asked, her eyes going wide in surprise. Ash turned to her hearing her surprised comment and nodded.

"Yeah, he does. As a matter of fact, Brock's a professional at it; he always made meals for us while we were travelling together. And man, they're amazing!" Ash explained. His eyes then slowly went wide and a bright smile slowly crossed his face as he remembered whenever Brock could cook for himself, Ash and Misty. May showed an expression of annoyance seeing this, and then she grabbed the front of Ash's cap and pulled it down over his eyes, causing him to show an expression of puzzlement at this, while Brock and Misty watched in amusement.

"Sorry if I'm useless compared to him." May sarcastically commented. Ash fumbled around for a few seconds before pulling his cap upright and turned to May with a smile. "I'm not saying that your meals aren't good, May. Considering this is the first one I've had you made yourself, I like it. I'm just saying that Brock's done it for us as well. Plus, I think maybe you might be able to learn a few things from him." Ash explained.

May listened to Ash and once she heard him say that last part, an idea then came to her head. She then turned to Brock with a smile, silently hoping that he would agree to this. "Hey, Brock?" she asked. Brock turned his glance to May, wondering what she wanted to say. "Is it true about what Ash is saying that you're a really good cook?" May asked. Brock showed a smile and nodded; Ash was telling the truth about that. "Well... I've actually taken an interest in cooking myself, and I was wondering if you'd be able to help me improve my cooking skills." May explained.

"Sure thing, May. I'll be glad to help you out." Brock replied. May's smile grew brighter hearing this; she was glad to hear Brock accept. "Just as a heads-up, though; my meals are hard to make. So you'll need to pay close attention to what I tell you to do. Does that sound fair?" Brock asked. May nodded in agreement; though she wasn't the best at paying attention, she would do her best to listen to Brock. She then looked at the rest of the group, as there was something else on her mind.

"Say, I've been meaning to ask: how did you guys meet Ash?" May asked. Brock and Misty both looked at each other with smiles of amusement remembering those days before they looked back at May ready to answer her question.

"Oh, that's a fun story for me. I was out fishing, since I was having a break from all the nonsense happening in Cerulean City with me and my sisters, when I suddenly fished him up. It turned out he was running from a flock of Spearow that were chasing him and Pikachu, and he borrowed my bike in the process. When I caught up with him, I found that my bike had been burnt into a crisp!" Misty explained. She then turned to Ash with a glare, to which he quickly showed a nervous smile and started to rub the back of his head.

"Yeah... sorry about that, Misty. You did end up getting a new bike, right?" Ash asked. "Yeah, but before then, you owed me big time! And don't think I'm letting you off the hook for that anytime soon." Misty retorted, crossing her arms in irritation. Ash let out a small sigh to himself; he had a feeling that Misty wasn't going to let him hear the end of that.

May and Brock were both looking at the two as they heard that, before the four looked back at each other. "What about you, Brock?" May asked. "Oh, I met Ash when he arrived at Pewter City for his first Gym Badge in Kanto. He only had Pikachu at the time, but wanted to challenge me anyway. During our second battle, Ash decided not to finish the battle since he had an unfair advantage thanks to the water sprinklers going off during the battle." Brock explained.

May simply stared in silence before she asked in bewilderment "Who puts water sprinklers in the arena while a Gym battle is happening? Don't you think they'd know better than that?" Brock simply shook his head from amusement; he had a feeling May would ask that.

"Yeah, I wonder the same thing sometimes. Anyway, I gave Ash the Badge despite that and since my Dad was there, he took charge of the Gym while I went with Ash and Misty. And we've basically been travelling together since then." Brock continued. May showed an expression of awe; she was surprised to hear that the three of them had been travelling together for that long.

"What about you, May? How did you meet Ash?" Misty asked. May immediately showed a smile of excitement; she was looking forward to telling the two about this.

"Oh, this is something you guys will want to hear. So this is what happened: I was heading up to Littleroot Town to pick up my first Pokemon when I was attacked by a pack of vicious Mightyena." May started. Brock and Misty stared in surprise hearing this and then they showed an expression of puzzlement at what May mentioned.

"Mightyena?" Misty asked. Ash grabbed out his Pokedex, which he had gotten the new version of from Professor Birch before he and May left, and typed in Mightyena's name before showing the picture that appeared on the screen to the two. "They look like this." Ash said. Brock and Misty stared at the picture for a few seconds before May continued with her story.

"I then started to run for my life, but everywhere I went, those Mightyena were; it was like they seemed insistent on taking me down. But then, just when they had me cornered, Ash came with Pikachu and scared them off with Pikachu's Thunderbolt! It was unbelievable for me, and it turned out that Ash learnt who I was from Professor Birch so he could come and find me." May explained. Brock and Misty stared in silence before a bright smile showed on their faces and they looked at Ash who showed a nervous smile.

"Well, it was nothing. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway." Ash said. "Are you kidding? You saved May from a pack of dangerous Pokemon! That's amazing if you ask me." Misty excitedly commented.

"I'll say. And though you didn't know what they were, you just went and stopped them from attacking May. I have to agree with Misty about that." Brock agreed. Ash was simply silent before a bright smile showed on his face hearing this; though he didn't think of it as much, he could see that Brock and Misty were both amazed by his feat.

"Well, I wasn't going to sit by and watch May get hurt, was I?" Ash asked in response. He then looked at May to see that she had a bright smile and her cheeks had started to glow red as she remembered Ash's heroism; she probably wouldn't be where she was now if it wasn't for him.

While the four were enjoying their conversation, the Rocket Trio were watching from a bush nearby; they had managed to leave the construction site they were working at and now they had finally caught up with Ash and the others here. "Say, isn't that those two that are always alongside him? Didn't they say that they had their own agendas to deal with?" Jessie asked, noticing Brock and Misty.

"I'll bet they must have found a way to come here. It feels great to have the old gang back together." Meowth commented. Wobbuffet, who had come out of his Pokeball once again, popped up and blurted "Wobbuffet!" The Rocket Trio turned to see him with expressions of annoyance.

"Will you be quiet, big mouth? You're going to get us spotted if you keep doing that!" Jessie snapped. "Jessie's right. Why do you think we get sent flying sky-high?" James asked. That prompted Wobbuffet to hop backward a few steps and keep his mouth shut. With that taken care, the Rocket Trio looked back to watch the group of four.

"So if you guys are here, does that mean all four of us will be travelling through Hoenn together?" Ash asked. May turned to Ash with an expression of surprise hearing this.

"Yeah, it sure does." Misty replied. "If you're okay with it, that is." Brock added. Ash immediately showed a bright smile and nodded; he was more than happy to have Brock and Misty along for the ride, since that was what he wanted while he was on his way here.

"That's the best news I've heard for the past few days! It's great to have you guys back on board!" Ash happily exclaimed. May nearly jumped from alarm hearing that; she had thought that Ash was all right with just the two of them travelling together. "What do you think, May? Should we let Brock and Misty tag along with us?" Ash asked, looking over May.

May was about to object, but then she stopped; she remembered how happy Ash was when Brock and Misty finally caught up with them, and seeing him this thrilled to have them travelling with him again made her decide otherwise. 'Why should I be the one to ruin Ash's fun? So long as he's happy, that makes me happy.' May said to herself. She then showed a bright smile and nodded. "Why not? It's always fun to travel with friends." May explained.

"That's great! Tomorrow morning, we're heading into Petalburg Woods and then we'll be at Rustboro City before we know it!" Ash said.

The Rocket Trio could hear this from their hiding place. "I was right! The gang is back together. It feels like they never left us." Meowth commented. Just then, Jessie let out a groan and grabbed her left shoulder, to which James and Meowth turned to her in surprise. "What's the matter, Jess?" Meowth asked.

"Working at that construction site all day has left me feeling sore all over... I don't think I'll be able to get to sleep feeling like this." Jessie explained. James and Meowth looked at her with expressions of concern before James showed a smile getting an idea.

"I think I'll be able to help with that, Jess." James suggested. He then walked over so he was standing behind Jessie and started to run his fingers across her shoulders softly; he was giving her a massage. "How does this feel?" he asked, glancing at her with a smile.

"You have to be crazy if you think I'm going to let you do that!" Jessie retorted. James stared at Jessie in surprise before he simply showed a smile. "Oh, that's just the stress from working all day talking. You need to relax from all that exhausting effort." James replied. Jessie glared at James for a few seconds before a smile slowly crossed her face.

"I have to admit you're right... This feels really nice. I'm surprised I haven't let you do this more often." Jessie commented. James brightly smiled hearing this comment; that meant Jessie liked it.

Meanwhile, Ash and the others couldn't hear any of this. "So, who's up for a good sleep for the night? We'll be ready to head to Petalburg Woods tomorrow." Brock suggested. The others cheered in agreement; that sounded good to them.

The next morning, Ash and the others all had their things packed and they were now on their way to the entrance toward Petalburg Woods. "I wonder what kind of Pokemon we'll see while we're there. I hope I'll be able to catch some new Pokemon." Ash commented.

"Same here, Ash. I just hope we don't run into any bug Pokemon while we're there." Misty agreed, shuddering at the mention of bug Pokemon. May was listening and then she turned to Ash with an expression of puzzlement.

"How come Misty doesn't like bug Pokemon?" she asked. "I haven't been able to figure out during all the time we've been together." Ash replied, shrugging in response. He then turned to May with a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "May, you don't need to worry. If there's anything you don't know, don't be afraid to ask me, Brock or Misty. And just remember that we're all together during this, okay?" he asked. May showed a bright smile at this support and nodded in agreement; she knew that Ash was right. With this, the four continued their trek: this was the start of a new adventure for all four of them.

Meanwhile, the Rocket Trio were heading towards Petalburg Woods as well since they knew that was where Ash was heading. As they were walking, Jessie let out a happy sigh and she had a bright smile on her face. "Isn't it a beautiful day today? The sun is shining and there's not a cloud in the sky. Nothing could be better than this!" she happily commented. James and Meowth both looked at her in surprise seeing how optimistic she was acting.

"Someone's feeling very cheerful this morning." Meowth commented. Jessie looked down at their little partner, her bright smile seemingly unfaltering.

"Why wouldn't I be? Especially after that massage James gave me last night." Jessie replied. James looked down with a smile on his face, but then he looked up in surprise to see that Jessie had grabbed his shoulders and was looking at him brightly smiling. "That was such a lifesaver, James. I haven't had as good as a night as I had for a long time. And I have you to thank for that." Jessie said. She then leaned forward and gave James a tender kiss on the cheek before she let go of his shoulders and started to walk off ahead.

James stopped dead in his tracks after realising what Jessie just did, and then he could feel his cheeks start to glow bright red. "Oh my..." he silently whispered with a bright smile showing on his face. Meowth looked up to see James's speechless reaction and then he couldn't help himself chuckling at this.

"Score for Jimmy! Keep doing things like that for Jess and you'll be set for life." Meowth commented. James looked down at Meowth hearing this and then he nodded in agreement.

"Come on, you two! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" James and Meowth both looked up hearing Jessie call them, and then they started to run after her as she was already walking far ahead of them.


	7. Into Petalburg Woods

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 7: Into Petalburg Woods**

Ash, May, Brock and Misty were walking down the path leading to the entrance of Petalburg Woods. As they were walking, Misty turned her glance to notice the PokeNav May was holding in her hands to check their progress and an expression of surprise showed on her face. "What have you got there, May?" she asked. May looked up from the PokeNav and a bright smile showed on her face as she showed it to Misty and Brock, since she had a feeling that they hadn't seen it before.

"It's a PokeNav. I can use it to check where we're going, and it also shows where we can find the nearest Pokemon Centre if there's one nearby." May explained, pointing down at the screen for Brock and Misty to look for themselves, and they could see that they were being indicated on the map by a flashing blue dot. The two stared down at the screen with smiles of fascination crossing their faces.

"Wow; that looks great! I don't think I've seen one of those before." Misty commented staring down at the screen in awe with Togepi looking on at the same time. May couldn't help herself showing a bright smile hearing Misty say that; even though the PokeNav was technically Max's, she was holding onto it during their journey since he entrusted it to her, knowing that she would probably need it.

"Well, that's not a surprise." Hearing this, May and Misty both turned their glances to Brock; he was looking at the guidebook he kept in his bag if they ever needed it. "Rustboro City has a building called the Devon Corporation, which is responsible for the development for advancements in technology such as the PokeNav, and those are only recent." Brock explained; he was reading the page that showed places of interest in Rustboro and there was also a large picture of the city shown on the page. May and Misty both had a look at the page with Brock to see the picture and they noticed the Devon Corporation located at the top left-hand side of the picture.

"Wow, that building looks amazing! We should go visit there while we have a chance when we arrive at Rustboro City." May commented. Misty nodded in agreement; now that she knew what the Devon Corporation was responsible for, she wanted to see what else they had in progress. "Well, I think we'll be able to do that after Ash wins against the Gym Leader there." Misty said. May cheerfully nodded in agreement; she was looking forward to supporting Ash during that battle when they arrived, and she was also feeling excited to do some shopping in the city once they took some time to relax.

Ash could hear the conversation taking place behind him and then he turned his glance back to the path in front of him, and then a bright smile immediately crossed his face once he saw where they were. "Guys, look! We're here!" Ash said, looking back over his shoulder and calling to the other three to come over. May, Brock and Misty all ran over next to Ash to see what was up and then they looked up to see that they were standing at the entrance: it was leading to an area surrounded by large green-leaved trees and there was a white sign next to it with blue paint that described the name of the area: Petalburg Woods.

"So this is Petalburg Woods..." Misty silently commented with Togepi glancing up in her arms as the group of four stared up at the entrance in near wordlessness. May looked down at her PokeNav to see the large patch of green indicated on the map, which let her know that they were at the right place.

"Yeah, this is it. Once we make it through here, we'll be clear on our way to Rustboro City." May agreed. She then slowly turned her glance back up to see the forest that lay just behind this invisible door: once they stepped in, it seemed that there would be no turning back for them. But then she started to take a few steps back in worry; the fact that there was no knowing what awaited them once they stepped into the unknown forest made small chills crawl up her spine. Ash turned his glance to May noticing that she was starting to get a bit anxious and showed an expression of concern.

"May, what's wrong?" he asked. May turned to Ash and then looked back at the entrance towards Petalburg Woods. "I'm not sure what it is, but something about stepping into that forest is making me...nervous. I almost feel like I don't want to go in there, but I can't be sure why." May nervously explained, with an expression of worry etched on her face; who could be certain what awaited them in there? Ash stared at May in silence for a few moments before he showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.

"I know what you mean, May. Looking at it, I don't find it hard to blame you. But you don't need to worry; don't forget that I'm here with you, and so are Brock and Misty." Ash explained. He then reached over and took May's hand in his. "If you want, we can stay together until we make it out if it'll help you feel safer." Ash added. May stared down in silence seeing that she and Ash were holding hands and then she looked up at him to see that he had a reassuring smile on his face; it let her know that she didn't have anything to worry about, that she would be safe as long as he was with her. After a few seconds, May showed a bright smile and nodded.

"Thanks, Ash. I already feel a lot better hearing that." May said. She and Ash then turned their glances to Brock and Misty. "Come on, what are we waiting for? Onwards we go to Petalburg Woods!" May called, raising her spare fist into the air with a bright smile and an expression of determination on her face. With this, the four then started to make their way into Petalburg Woods. As they were walking, Misty turned to Brock having just noticed something.

"May's feeling very confident about this, isn't she?" she asked. "I guess it's because she knows that all four of us are going together and that she doesn't have much to worry about. Besides, I think she feels a lot safer knowing that Ash is there to support her." Brock explained. Misty had been listening intently while Brock said that and then she turned to her glance back to Ash and May, and she noticed that they were both holding hands.

"I think you might be right..." Misty commented to herself, though she had a feeling that it wasn't just for that reason alone.

Meanwhile, the Rocket Trio had stepped into Petalburg Woods as well and they were looking around their surroundings in awe. "Look at how big this forest is! I always thought Viridian Forest was big, but I think this could give that a run for its money." James commented. Jessie let out a content sigh as a bright smile remained on her face; it was obvious she was still in a cheerful mood after the previous night.

"Isn't the forest so relaxing? It just has that atmosphere that makes you forget about all your troubles and take in all the wonders it has to offer you. Don't you two feel the same way?" Jessie asked, turning to her two partners walking beside her. James and Meowth both stared at her in surprise listening to her say all of this.

"Look at Jess; she's been blabbering on like this all morning. I have a feeling she'll snap out of this state when we run into the twerps." Meowth commented. Hearing Meowth say that gave James an idea; he had something he wanted to ask Jessie and he had a feeling he'd only be able to do that while she was acting like this. So with that, he turned his glance at her as she was looking around the woods in awe and she had her eyes closed, taking in all of her surroundings.

"Um... Jessie?" James asked. Jessie opened her eyes hearing James's voice and then she looked over at him with a bright smile. "Yes, Jimmy?" she asked in response, taking his hand in hers. James looked down to see this and then looked back up at her seeing her big smile; he was starting to feel his nerves start to get the better of him. But he decided that he wasn't going to let that stop him and started to speak up.

"Well, I was wondering. When we get to Rustboro City... do you think that... maybe we could..." James turned his glance at Jessie to see her waiting patiently for him to finish with her smile still remaining. With this, James quietly took a deep breath before he continued. "Maybe we could... go on a date?" Once that was let out, he simply remained silent and waited for what Jessie's response would be. After a few seconds, Jessie's smile quickly grew larger and she threw her arms around him much to his surprise.

"Why, James, I never thought you'd ask me that! Yes, I'd love to!" Jessie happily replied. She then leaned forward and gave James a sweet kiss on the cheek before she let go and started to walk off ahead. James stared in stunned silence realising what Jessie just said, and a bright smile slowly crossed his face and he could feel his cheeks start to go red and his heartbeat increase at the same time.

"She... she said yes..." James whispered, unable to believe that he had not only gotten the guts to ask Jessie that question, but also that she had cheerfully accepted his request. Meowth looked up at James having heard all of this and then he showed a smug smile and crossed his arms.

"Well, I don't know how you did it, but you did it, Jimmy. You've managed to ask Jess out. Now all there's left to do is wonder if she'll remember that when we get there." Meowth commented. James stared down at Meowth wondering what he was talking about before he realised: once they came across Ash and the others, Jessie would snap out of the cheerful state she was currently in and get back into serious mode.

'I just hope she'll still remember that I asked her out...' James worriedly said to himself; he didn't want for this chance to go to waste. He had actually managed to gain the courage to do so and he wanted to be certain that it would pay off in the end.

"Come on, you two! Let's go. We don't have any time to waste, you know!" Jessie called, looking back to see that James and Meowth weren't following her and waving to them so they would catch up. The two quickly started to run so they could catch up with Jessie and once they were back beside her, the three started to walk together again.

Meanwhile, Ash, May, Brock and Misty had started their trek through Petalburg Woods and May was looking around with a bright smile and her eyes had gone wide in awe. "Wow...look at this place. It's nowhere near as frightening as I thought it would be." May happily commented. She could see the sunlight poking in through the trees around them coming out in the shape of sunbeams and when she looked up, she could see the clear blue sky over their heads. Ash was watching May as she was glancing around in amazement and he could tell that she was feeling less worried than she was before.

"So, May. Are you feeling a bit better now that we're in here?" he asked. May turned to him and nodded in agreement; she had to admit that she felt a bit silly letting her worries get the better of her, but she figured that she wasn't going to dwell on that now. While they were both busy, Brock and Misty were both having a look around for themselves.

"Petalburg Woods looks amazing. I wonder if it's bigger than what Viridian Forest was." Misty said. "I'd say it probably is, Misty." Brock commented. Judging from their surrounding area alone, it wouldn't be too hard to say that Petalburg Woods was bigger than Viridian Forest.

Ash then turned to Pikachu who had been looking around all the while, and this prompted his partner to look at him wondering what was up. "Hey, Pikachu. Why don't we see if we can find any new Pokemon in here? I think we might be able to catch a new Pokemon when we start looking." Ash suggested. Pikachu showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "(Yeah, that sounds great!)" he cheerfully replied. Knowing that Pikachu was up for this, Ash then turned to May to find out what she wanted to do.

"Hey, May?" Ash asked. May turned to Ash wondering what was up. "Pikachu and I are going to go look for some new Pokemon in these woods. Would you like to come with us?" Ash asked. May quickly showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" May cheerfully replied. With that decision in mind, Ash and May started to rush off together while Brock and Misty watched on in surprise wondering where they were going. "Hey, where are you both running off to?" Brock asked. Ash and May both stopped running in their tracks and turned to their two friends.

"We're going to see if we can find any new Pokemon. Since we're here, I figured that this would be a great opportunity to try and catch a new Pokemon on my team!" Ash explained. "Same here! I want to see if I can find any good Pokemon for my team too, so I figured that I'd go with Ash since he's doing the same thing. We'll meet back up with you guys later!" May added. With that, the two then started to rush off while Brock and Misty watched on in surprise. Once the two were gone, Misty looked over at Brock with an expression of concern.

"And to think I just thought that Ash was starting to take his journey seriously, he rushes off like he usually does. And to make matters worse, he takes May along with his crazy idea. Sometimes I wonder what runs through his head." Misty sighed, slowly shaking her head after watching the two head off and leave her and Brock behind like that. Brock showed a smile of amusement hearing Misty say that and he had to admit, sometimes he couldn't make sense of Ash's train of thought either. But it seemed that he knew what he was doing, so that gave Brock little reason to be concerned like Misty was.

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, Misty. Knowing Ash, I think he knows what he's doing." Brock said. Misty lifted her head up to look at Brock after hearing him say that and then she showed a smile; no matter how reckless Ash's ideas seemed, they usually always worked out for him. So this seemed like it would be no different. "Since it's just the two of us, how about we start looking to see if there's somewhere we can set up a place to rest? I'll bet that when Ash and May get back, they'll be looking forward to having some lunch." Brock suggested. Misty showed a bright smile at this suggestion and nodded in agreement; that sounded good to her. So with this, the two started to walk off ahead to find somewhere for them to set up a base of operations.

Meanwhile with Ash and May, the two were starting their trek around Petalburg Woods to see if they could find any new Pokemon. As the two were looking around, May's gaze darted towards something to her left and then a bright smile immediately crossed her face and her eyes went large in excitement. "Ash, look at that!" May exclaimed, tugging on Ash's sweatshirt sleeve to get his attention.

Ash turned his glance to May at this. "What's up?" he asked. May quickly pointed in the direction she was looking towards in excitement, and then the two started to walk over to see what it was that May noticed. Poking their heads out from underneath a bush, Ash and May could see a group of flower Pokemon dancing: they had circular blue eyes, green bodies with red circle marking on their cheeks, two bright red flowers on both sides of their heads and green and yellow leaves that resembled a skirt.

"What are those Pokemon? They look so beautiful!" May happily commented, watching them dance with a bright smile on her face. "They're Bellossom." Ash replied. Pikachu nodded in agreement; he could recognize what those Pokemon were in an instant as well.

Hearing that, May grabbed out her Pokedex and opened it up to get some more information. "Bellossom, the Flower Pokemon. When these Pokemon move, they rub their delicate petal together, creating a pleasant sound. They are also known for their unique acrobatic dancing abilities." The Pokedex explained, showing a picture of Bellossom on the screen.

May then lifted her Pokedex down and looked back up at the Bellossom watching them dance: their moves were so graceful, one could almost mistake them for ballerinas. She showed a bright smile looking on at them and then turned to Ash. "Isn't their dancing amazing, Ash? I feel like I could stay here and watch them forever." May commented. With this, she and Ash both sat down on the grass and made themselves comfortable; they were going to watch the Bellossom dance for a few minutes before they got back to their search for new Pokemon. As they watched the dancing, May scooted over closer to Ash and rested her head on his shoulder. Ash turned his glance to notice this and showed a bright smile, seeing how content May looked and looked back at the Bellossom, deciding to leave her be rather than ask what she was doing. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and watched the two with a big smile, noticing that Ash wasn't bothered by May having her head on his shoulder.

"(I have a feeling that Ash is starting to catch on with May's feelings for him.)" Pikachu said to himself; at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before Ash finally worked out why May was acting like this around him, and that would be a day for Pikachu to celebrate: his best friend would no longer be dense about love.

As Ash and May continued to watch the Bellossom dance, a bush behind them started to shake and the Rocket Trio poked their heads out to spot the two. "Hey, James. Do you see what I see?" Jessie asked, noticing the two sitting together. James turned his head to spot Ash and May and noticed May happily sitting beside Ash and resting her head on his shoulder, with him not bothered by it at all.

"I think so, Jess." James replied, slowly nodding. Meowth poked his head up to see what was going on and a big smile crossed his face at the sight of Ash and May together. "Ha ha! I think someone has a crush on our favourite twerp." Meowth commented. Wobbuffet suddenly popped out of his Pokeball behind the Rocket Trio and blurted "Wobbuffet!" The Rocket Trio quickly turned their heads to see Wobbuffet standing behind them and pushed him down to try and get him to shut up; they didn't want him blowing their cover.

Pikachu turned around to see what was happening and noticed the Rocket Trio hiding in the bush behind him, Ash and May. He then walked over to the three and his cheeks started to crackle with electricity, which the Rocket Trio quickly turned their heads to notice. "(May I ask what you guys are doing here? Can't you see that these two need a bit of privacy?)" Pikachu asked, showing a glare of annoyance at the Rocket Trio's interference; he didn't want them rudely interrupting Ash and May's quiet moment together.

The Rocket Trio started to smile and laughed nervously, seeing Pikachu; they had a feeling he was going to give them one nasty shock if they didn't leave in the next five seconds. "We were...just leaving." Jessie said. "Sorry to bother you, but we'll be on our way now." James added. With that, the Rocket Trio jumped up on their feet and started to run for it, all three of them exclaiming "Running away very fast!"

With that taken care of, Pikachu's cheeks stopped crackling with electricity and he stood up with a smile of satisfaction. "(That should take care of them for now.)" Pikachu commented to himself. He then turned and ran back over to Ash and May, noticing that they were still sitting together. After a few seconds of silence between them, May turned her glance to Ash.

"Ash?" she asked. "Yeah, May?" Ash asked in response, looking over at May wondering what she had to say. Pikachu watched the two with an expression of surprise, and then he noticed that May's cheeks were starting to go red and a smile slowly crossed his face. "(I think I like where this is going.)" Pikachu commented; he had a feeling that he knew what was coming.

"There's something that...I want to tell you." May said. "Yeah? What's that?" Ash asked. Pikachu's smile slowly grew larger as he watched this; the moment he had been waiting for was coming near. May remained silent for a few moments to think about how to word this properly before she spoke up.

"I know that we've only been travelling together for a short while now, but I feel that I'm ready to tell you this. It's something I've wanted to say to you since we were in Petalburg City and, now that we're alone like this, I think I'm ready to tell you now." May explained. Ash showed an expression of surprise, wondering what May was getting at with this, while Pikachu watched on with a big smile on his face. "(It's finally happening. May's going to tell Ash her feelings for him!)" Pikachu happily cheered to himself; he had been looking forward to this just as much as May was, and now he knew that his patience was finally going to pay off.

May felt her smile grow brighter as she and Ash looked into each other's eyes. This was the moment she had been waiting for; it was just the two of them, and no one would be here to interrupt them. "Ash, I..." Before May had a chance to continue, she and Ash could hear tree leaves shaking over their heads and looked up to see what it was. After a few seconds, a Wurmple slowly crawled out onto the tree branch.

Pikachu quickly showed a glare and snapped his fingers in frustration. "(Oh, man...And May was so close, too!)" he snapped; all of his patience had just gone to waste in the space of a few seconds.

"Look at that, May! We found a new Pokemon!" Ash said, pointing up at the three upon noticing the Wurmple. May showed an expression of annoyance noticing the Wurmple, since it had interrupted what she was going to say, but then she remembered what had happened on Route 102 and a smile of determination quickly crossed her face.

"I may have let that Wurmple get away from me before, but I'm not going to let myself make that mistake again!" May said, quickly jumping up on her feet. Realising that May was going to go after it, the Wurmple quickly turned about and started to scurry across the trees trying to get away. "Hey, Wurmple, wait for me!" May called, before she started to run after the Wurmple as it quickly rushed across the trees.

Watching this, Ash jumped up on his feet and started to run after May. "May, wait up!" Ash called, while Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder. "(Yeah, slow down!)" Pikachu agreed. As the two were running off, the Rocket Trio poked their heads out from a bush, having just come back from their retreat away from Pikachu.

"Come on; we can't let them get away so easily!" Jessie said, prompting both James and Meowth to turn to her in surprise. Jessie then stood up and started to run after Ash and May while James and Meowth watched on in silence. After a few moments, Meowth nodded in agreement. "Jessie's right; we can't let those twerps slip out from under our claws." Meowth said, before he started to follow after Jessie, while James followed not too far behind. "Do you think Jessie still remembers me asking her out?" James asked, mostly to himself so that the other two couldn't hear him.

Back with Ash and May, the two were in hot pursuit of the Wurmple, who was quickly trying to scurry through the trees to get away. Figuring that she could use help, May grabbed out one of her Pokeballs from her bag. "Torchic, come on out!" May called as she threw the Pokeball, causing it to open and release Torchic who started running across the ground alongside her Trainer. She then looked up to see the Wurmple and jumped up into the air, landing on the branch behind it. "All right, you got it! Now, Torchic, use Peck!" May called, looking up with a big smile to see Torchic on the tree next to the Wurmple.

With this, Torchic's beak started to glow bright white and she lunged forward before directly hitting the Wurmple, causing it to fall out of the tree and land on the ground in front of Ash and May. It then got up and shook its head rapidly before standing upright, while Torchic jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground safely, leaving her and Wurmple to stare each other in the eye; they were both ready to battle against one another.

"Okay, Torchic, use Ember!" May said. Torchic shot out small blasts of fire from her beak which shot towards Wurmple. Wurmple quickly moved out of the way and shot out a long string of what looked like white silk from its mouth, which then wrapped around Torchic completely binding her. "Oh no, Torchic!" May cried, seeing that her Pokemon was in trouble. Luckily, Torchic seemed to know what to do because her beak started to glow bright white and she rapidly pecked through the bind until she was free, and then she started to charge towards the Wurmple with an expression of determination; she was ready to knock this thing out so May could capture it and make it her own. "All right, Torchic! Show that Wurmple what you've got!" May cheered, a big smile crossing her face. Not holding anything back, Torchic lunged towards Wurmple and hit it directly with her beak, sending it flying backwards and slamming against the ground before it collapsed, knocked out.

"Now's your chance, May!" Ash said, showing a big smile at May's success. May nodded in agreement, and then she grabbed out an empty Pokeball from her bag.

"Pokeball, go!" May called, throwing the Pokeball at Wurmple. Once the Pokeball hit against Wurmple's head, it opened up and snagged Wurmple inside before closing again and landing on the ground. As Ash and May watched, the Pokeball shook violently with its centre glowing red before it stopped with the red glowing fading away. May showed a bright smile, seeing that her capture was a success, and then she walked over and picked up the Pokeball, holding it in the air. "All right! I caught a Wurmple!" May cheered. Torchic leapt up in the air, happily chirping in excitement; she had a new friend in the roster.

Meanwhile with Brock and Misty, the two had just found a place to rest and wait for Ash and May to come back: they had decided to rest at a river side that was just outside the woods. They had just released their Pokemon and getting all set up. Misty was relaxing watching the river flow by while Brock was setting up a campfire for lunch. "Ah...this is such a nice place to relax. It's so quiet and peaceful, and I don't have to worry about running into any Bug Pokemon in those woods." Misty commented, letting out a content sigh from how much she was enjoying herself. She looked to see her Pokemon swimming in the river stream; Starmie was floating on the surface with Togepi happily sitting on him enjoying the ride, and Goldeen and Horsea were swimming underneath the water, occasionally jumping out from the surface before landing back in. Misty cheerfully laughed to herself watching her Pokemon have a good time, before she turned her glance to Brock. "Hey, Brock. What are you going to make for lunch?" she asked.

"I'm going to rustle us up some stew. But we'll probably need to wait until Ash and May get back, so that way we can all eat together." Brock replied. Misty showed a bright smile hearing this and then she got up and walked over, looking in the direction of the woods.

"How do you think Ash and May are doing out there? I hope those two haven't gotten themselves into trouble because of one of Ash's ideas." Misty said. Brock turned to Misty wondering what she was talking about, before he showed a smile as he understood what she meant.

"Don't worry, Misty. I'm sure they're both doing just fine." Brock commented. Misty turned her glance to him hearing that before she looked back at the woods; she knew how Ash was like and she was sure that in some way or another, something was bound to happen to him and May, she just didn't know when it would be.

Back with Ash and May, May released her newly caught Wurmple from her Pokeball, allowing her to stretch out and have some room to breathe after having just been caught. As the two stared down at May's new Pokemon, Ash turned to her with a big smile. "May, you managed to catch another Pokemon. Great job!" Ash happily said. "(Yeah, great job, May!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a smile that matched Ash's. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; that made four Pokemon on her team now. And considering she was just getting started now, that seemed to be quite an accomplishment to her. She then looked down at Wurmple, who was looking around, and bent down to get to her height.

"Hi there, Wurmple." May said. Wurmple turned her head to see May looking down at her with a smile. "Nice to meet you; my name's May. And over here is my friend, Ash, and his partner Pokemon, Pikachu." May explained, looking up at Ash and Pikachu who both smiled brightly at Wurmple before the two waved at the little worm Pokemon. Wurmple glanced up at the two in silence before she closed her eyes, presumably showing a smile back at them. As May stood up, she suddenly heard her stomach start to grumble and turned to Ash. "Hey, Ash, do you know what we're going to do for lunch? Because I'm starting to feel hungry!" May said.

Ash looked up with his fingers placed under his chin to think for a few moments, before he showed a smile as he had an idea. "I think I know what to do!" He then pulled his bag off his shoulders, placed it down on the ground and unzipped it open to reveal that there was a bunch of Berries still in his bag. "I've still got quite a few Berries in here, so maybe we can finish off our Berry Kebabs." Ash explained. He then grabbed out the last two sticks that had Berries on them for May to see, to which she showed a big smile and her eyes went big showing the full bright blue colour in them.

"All right! Thanks, Ash; you're the best!" May happily exclaimed. She then walked over to grab one of the sticks from Ash, but she didn't notice that Wurmple was staring at the Berries that were in the bag. After a few seconds, Wurmple scrambled over and jumped into Ash's bag, munching on all of the Berries that were in them, which prompted Ash and May to look down wondering what was going on. Before the two had a chance to react, Wurmple slowly climbed out of the bag having had her full serve of lunch for the day and let out a yawn before curling up into a ball and dropping to sleep. Ash and May both stared at Wurmple in disbelief before they looked down at Ash's bag to see that she had eaten all of the Berries that were in it. "No way...Wurmple ate _all _of the Berries?!" May exclaimed.

"I guess your Wurmple has a big appetite." Ash commented. "(I wonder who else shares that quality...)" Pikachu added, staring at Ash with a smug smile on his face; he knew that Ash had a tendency to eat a lot as well. Ash looked over at Pikachu wondering who he meant, and then he turned his glance back to May to see that she was still staring in disbelief before an expression of sadness quickly showed on her face and then she turned to Ash.

"Now what are we supposed to eat?" May asked. Ash stared at May before he showed a comforting smile. "Don't worry, May. If we have these, this should hold us over until we get back to Brock and Misty. And then we'll all be able to have a proper lunch together." Ash explained. May quickly showed a smile hearing this and she nodded in agreement; she knew that he was right. But before the two had a chance to get to eat their Berry Kebabs, a blur suddenly swooped down and grabbed the sticks right out of their hands. The two stared in disbelief before they turned their heads to see who the theft was committed by: it was a dark blue small bird Pokemon with a white colour on the underside of its wings, patches of red on its chest and forehead, narrow brown eyes, a short yellow beak, two sharp tail feathers and black feets with yellow claws on the end.

Ash and May both stared in surprise before a glare slowly crossed on May's face. "That Pokemon stole our Berries! Come back here!" May snapped before she started to run after the bird Pokemon flying straight ahead with the sticks in its claws. Ash quickly followed suit, with Pikachu hanging on tight to his cap, as they gave chase and grabbed his Pokedex out. "What is that?" Ash asked as he opened it up to find out who the new Pokemon he and May found was.

"Taillow, the Tiny Swallow Pokemon. Taillow has a fierce personality, never backing down, even against the most powerful opponents." The Pokedex explained, showing a picture of the Pokemon on the screen. Ash showed a bright smile as he looked at the Pokedex entry; he couldn't believe that this little Pokemon could possibly be that strong. He then turned his glance to see May running off ahead of him, trying to catch up with Taillow.

"Give back our Berries!" May yelled. Ash, noticing that May was going to get ahead of him, started to pick up his running pace to try and get level with her. "May, wait up! I know you're upset about the Berries, but you don't need to leave me behind!" Ash called as he was trying to keep up with May; he was going to be left far behind if she kept up that running speed.

Soon, Ash and May came to an area of the forest where all of the trees around them had bright red apples on their branches, but neither of them noticed; they were still in hot pursuit of the Taillow. Soon, the Taillow landed on a tree branch and started munching on the Berries, while Ash and May caught up on the ground below. "Give us back our Berries, you robber!" May snapped to the Taillow sitting on the tree branch. However, Taillow didn't pay her any attention as it munched on the rest of the Berries. As soon as May saw this, she let out a loud sob as a waterfall of tears flooded from her eyes and then she showed an expression of sadness at this. "It ate the whole two sticks..." May sadly said, with tears still built in her eyes.

"I guess Taillow just must have been hungry like we were." Ash commented. Pikachu turned his head to notice something and jumped off Ash's shoulder to have a look for himself. However, Ash and May didn't notice because they were still looking up at Taillow. "Hey, Taillow, did you like our Berries?" Ash asked. Taillow let out a cheerful chirp, spreading its wings out in the process. "I'll take that as a yes, then." Ash commented, showing a smile of amusement.

"We're hungry too..." May sadly sighed, slowly dropping down on her knees in dismay. Ash then turned his glance to see her, and bent down to her placing a hand on her shoulder which prompted her to look up at him in surprise. "Don't worry, May. I'm sure we'll be able to find some food around here." Ash said, showing a reassuring smile.

As with Pikachu, he was still having a look around to see what he could find. He then looked up at the trees around them and showed a big smile. "(Ash, May, look at this!)" Pikachu happily called. Ash and May both turned their glance to Pikachu wondering what was up, and when Pikachu pointed up at the trees, Ash and May both turned their glances up to notice the apples hanging on the tree branches.

"May, look! These trees are full of apples!" Ash commented. May's expression of sadness was immediately replaced with one of excitement and she jumped up on her feet with a huge smile. "Yay, we're saved! Look out, tummy, lunch is about to be served!" May happily exclaimed. Ash showed a smile of amusement seeing May's excitement before he looked down at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, help us get those apples down here." Ash said. "(I'm on it, Ash!)" Pikachu replied, nodding. With this, he shot out a bolt of lightning into the sky towards the trees, sending apples dropping down towards them. Suddenly, a flock of Taillow flew out of the trees and grabbed the apples in their beaks before flying away.

"Oh no, not again!" May cried. After that, the Taillow flock swarmed around Ash and May, prompting the two to look around them in concern. "This doesn't look good...I think those Taillow are angry." Ash commented, showing an expression of concern.

"Well, they have their fruit back, so what's the problem?" May asked. "I think the problem is that we might be in the middle of their territory." Ash replied. As soon as he heard himself say that, he suddenly gasped. "And if that's the case, then they're upset because we were going to eat some of their fruit!"

"So what do we do now, Ash?" May worriedly asked. Before Ash had a chance to reply, the Taillow that had eaten their Berries, who seemed to be the leader of the flock, let out a loud squawk which prompted the rest of the flock to start swooping down towards Ash and May. As May watched on with an expression of worry, Ash quickly stepped in front of her with an expression of determination. "Ash, look out! They're going to attack you!" May cried.

Luckily, Ash seemed to be prepared for that. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he called. Pikachu jumped up into the air and released a strong bolt of lightning, electrocuting the entire flock and sending them dropping down onto the ground one by one. Once the entire flock was down, May looked around and let out a sigh of relief.

"That was a close call." May silently commented. She then looked over at Ash with a smile and said "Thanks, Ash. You really know what to do in situations like this." Ash turned to her with a smile that matched hers and nodded.

"No problem, May. Hopefully that should keep those Taillow down for a while." Ash replied. However, almost immediately after he said that, the flock of Taillow slowly got up and turned to the two, showing pretty nasty glares in their direction. "Or maybe not!" Ash quickly added as he and May nearly jumped in surprise. "How could they have recovered so quickly?" May asked. Ash had no idea as much as May did, but he knew that they'd be in trouble if he didn't take action.

"I think this should take care of them. Pikachu, Thunderbolt them!" Ash said. Pikachu nodded in agreement and then released a strong bolt of electricity, directly hitting the flock, but this time they seemed to break out of it, causing Pikachu to jump back and stare in alarm. Seeing this, Ash and May backed up against one another.

"How is that possible? Didn't Pikachu hit them directly?" May asked, unable to understand how the Taillow weren't affected by Pikachu's electric attacks. "May, didn't you hear what my Pokedex said? Taillow are fierce and they won't back down no matter how strong their opponents are." Ash explained. May quickly showed an expression of worry hearing this; that meant they were in big trouble.

From a bush nearby, the Rocket Trio poked their heads having been watching the whole scene play out. "These Taillow are fantastic, aren't they?" Jessie asked with a smile of awe on her face. "They'd bold and courageous just like us." James commented. "And they've got a knack for locating Berries." Meowth added. The three then turned to each other having a new idea.

"Just think of the power we'd have if those Taillow were on our side." Jessie commented. "Catching Pikachu would be easy with a flock of them!" James agreed. "It'll be a feather in our cap." Meowth happily said. Wobbuffet then popped out from the bush and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

Back with Ash and May, they were still trying to figure out how to take down the flock of Taillow. Pikachu released a bolt of electricity and hit the Taillow at the front, sending it dropping down to the ground before it flew back up into the air with the rest of the flock. "I'll bet that Taillow is the leader." May commented. "And since it also took our Berries, I'll say that it's the one who started this in the first place." Ash agreed. Taillow flapped its wings for a few moments before charging forward, aiming straight for Pikachu.

"Pikachu, look out!" Ash called. Pikachu quickly jumped out of the way as Taillow flew straight past him before it doubled back making its way back towards him. Before Pikachu had a chance to respond, Taillow slammed straight into him, sending him flying backwards and slamming against the ground, before flying back around for another hit. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu jumped back on his feet and released a strong bolt of electricity, directly hitting Taillow. However, Taillow suddenly broke out of the electric attack. "No way!" Ash gasped. "(Am I seeing this right?)" Pikachu asked.

"Ash, they're closing in on us. It seems that nothing we do is working. What are we going to do now?" May asked, showing an expression of worry. Ash turned to May in surprise hearing this and then looked back at the flock; he wasn't sure either, but he knew that they weren't going to back down either. The flock of Taillow then started to charge straight towards them. Pikachu stood there with an expression of determination, while Ash stood in front of May and spread both his arms out; even if the Taillow got him, he wanted to keep May safe. As the flock neared them, May quickly looked away covering her face in both her hands while Ash simply stood there fearlessly.

"Hey, you feathered flock! Leave our friends alone!" Hearing that voice, Ash and May both turned their heads to see Brock and Misty there, with Misty having been the one to yell that out; they had decided to look for them since they hadn't arrived back yet and found them here. Ash and May were silent for a few seconds before they showed a bright smile seeing them.

"Brock! Misty!" Ash happily said. "Oh, you have no idea how glad we are to see you two!" May exclaimed, with a smile of relief immediately showing on her face. Brock and Misty both smiled at this before they looked up to see the flock of Taillow surrounding the area and had turned their attention to the former two.

"We'll teach you a lesson for trying to pick a fight with Ash and May! Starmie, come on out!" Misty called, throwing out one of her Pokeballs and releasing Starmie from it. "You too, Forretress!" Brock added, throwing the one Pokeball he had and releasing Forretress from it. Seeing that they had a new target, the flock of Taillow started to fly towards Brock and Misty. Luckily, the two seemed to be prepared for this.

"All right, Starmie, use Hydro Pump!" Misty called. "Forretress, use Explosion!" Brock added. Starmie released a strong cannon blast of water from its jewel in the centre of its body, while Forretress started to glow white entirely before letting off an explosion that sent a large cloud of black smoke into the air. Once the smoke cleared, the Taillow were no longer in sight and Ash, May, Brock and Misty were the only ones standing there.

Soon, the group of four arrived outside the forest, near the river stream where Brock and Misty had decided to set up lunch. "Thanks, guys. We sure were lucky you came by." Ash commented. "But, how were you able to find us in a forest as big as this?" May asked, showing an expression of puzzlement.

"Well, we noticed that you two were taking a while, so we thought we'd head out to look for you." Brock replied. "And wouldn't you know it, we find you under attack by a bunch of Pokemon I have never seen before! At least they weren't Bug Pokemon, then I would have high-tailed it out of there..." Misty added, showing an expression of relief from the fact that she didn't have to deal with Bug Pokemon. Ash then showed a nervous smile and started scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But it was great to have you guys help us out." Ash commented. May and Pikachu nodded in agreement, and then Pikachu looked down at his arm. Ash then turned his glance to notice this. "What's the matter, buddy?" he asked, as he bent down to see what the problem was and saw that there was a scratch on Pikachu's arm from being hit by Taillow. Ash then showed a smile and placed his bag down on the ground in front of him. "Oh, that's not a problem at all, Pikachu. A Potion will be able to clear that up in no time." Ash said. After a bit of rummaging, he grabbed out a bottle of purple medicine and sprayed it on Pikachu's arm, causing Pikachu to let out a squeal and start blowing on his arm to ease the pain a little.

"Wow, you really came prepared, Ash. I always thought that Brock was the only one to keep an eye on our supplies." Misty commented. "Well, doing a bit of shopping at Petalburg City really helped with that." Ash replied. Misty nodded in agreement with a smile, but then she showed an expression of surprise after realising what she heard Ash say.

"Wait a second. You...did shopping?" Misty asked, pointing at Ash in surprise; she always knew Ash to be a person that wasn't too up for doing shopping, so hearing this was another shock for her. Ash simply smiled and nodded in agreement. "That's right. May and I were both out spending the day at Petalburg City, so we figured 'Why not stock up on things we might need?' I guess that really worked out in the end, huh?" Ash replied. He then looked over at May who showed a smile and nodded in agreement; she really enjoyed that day she and Ash spent together. Misty simply stared in stunned silence as she struggled to register what was going on with Ash; first he wasn't arguing with her like he usually would have, and now he was actually thinking ahead and decided to stock up on things he would need. She honestly couldn't believe what was happening in front of her.

"But that trip into Petalburg Woods wasn't a complete dud. I was able to catch another Pokemon! Have a look for yourself." May said, as she grabbed out a Pokeball and threw it into the air, causing it to open and release Wurmple, who was still asleep after eating all the Berries that Ash and May had. Misty nearly screamed in terror seeing Wurmple and ducked down, holding Togepi tight in her arms.

"A Bug Pokemon?! Why did it have to be bugs?" Misty asked, as she started to shake from fear. May stared at Misty in surprise, and then she picked Wurmple up in her arms and walked over to her. "Oh, what's there to worry about, Misty? It's just a cute Wurmple. Have a look for yourself; it's won't hurt you." May explained, holding Wurmple in front of her for Misty to see. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be a good idea because Misty rapidly shook her head.

"Bug Pokemon creep me out! Just keep it away from me!" Misty yelled, almost loud enough for her voice to be heard through the entire forest. May jumped back from surprise hearing Misty's outburst and simply stared in silence.

"Is Misty okay?" she asked. "Yeah, Misty will be fine. She just gets a bit worked up at the sight of Bug Pokemon. Trust me, it's just something we've gotten used to." Brock replied. May was simply silent, but then she nodded in understanding. "By the way, Ash, what were those Pokemon that tried to attack you and May?" Brock asked, as he and Ash turned their glances at each other.

"They were Taillow. They got mad because May and I stepped into their territory and tried to eat some of their apples, even though we were trying to get our Berries back because one of the Taillow took them from us. So I guess we unintentionally started a battle that we didn't want to get into in the first place." Ash explained. May then showed an expression of dismay and held her stomach which started to rumble loudly.

"And now Ash and I don't have anything to eat. Oh, I'm so hungry!" May groaned. She then nearly fell over onto the ground, while the others watched in alarm, but Ash quickly caught her in his arms. "May, are you all right? You're not going to pass out, are you?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. May lifted her head to look up at Ash and slowly shook it, which causing Ash to show a smile of relief. "Well, that's good to hear." Ash commented. May simply giggled to herself and looked down again with a blush streaking across her face; she couldn't believe that Ash was holding her like this, but she loved it anyway.

Misty started to show a glare as she watched the two, but she was quickly interrupted when Brock spoke up. "Don't worry, you two. I'm going to rustle us up some stew. How does that sound?" he asked, holding up a ladle. Misty's glare was quickly replaced with a bright smile upon hearing this and she nodded in agreement. "Brock, that sounds great!" she happily replied.

As soon as May heard that, she immediately jumped upright nearly accidently knocking Ash out in the process. "Really?! Thank you so much, Brock!" May exclaimed with a big smile crossing her face. After recovering from nearly getting knocked over, Ash showed a big smile and nodded in agreement with May. "All right! Brock to the rescue!" Ash cheerfully commented.

Back in Petalburg Woods, the Taillow flock were looking at the area Ash, May, Brock and Misty were standing at earlier wondering where they could have gone off to. "Calling all Taillow!" Hearing that voice, which was Meowth's, the Taillow flock turned their heads to see the Rocket Trio holding a rice ball in each hand.

"We come bearing gifts." Jessie said. "We've got yummy rice balls!" James called. Seeing the rice balls in the Rocket Trio's hands, the Taillow hovered down towards them.

"They're yours to chow down on, but first we've got to talk and make a dealy-o." Meowth explained. However, the Taillow didn't feel much like waiting for lunch because they charged right towards the Rocket Trio, prompting them to nearly jump back and drop the rice balls on the grass which the Taillow then proceeded to start munching on. "Or you could eat first and then we can talk." Meowth added as the Rocket Trio watched the eating display in front of them.

"Oh, I still think we should have saved one to eat ourselves..." Jessie said as she watched with an expression of dismay. "A rumbling tummy is a small price to pay for capturing Pikachu." James commented showing a smile that said that he knew that this was going to be a success. As the Taillow finished eating the rice balls, they turned to the Rocket Trio and started squawking all at once.

"They're saying that they want some more." Meowth said; since he had spent a long time figuring how to talk like everyone else, he could also understand what other Pokemon were saying. "Do you feather brains think this is a restaurant?" James asked as he and Jessie stared in disbelief.

"That's fine..." Jessie said. And then she showed a smile as she added "But, you'll have to do a little something for us first." The entire Taillow flock tilted their heads sideways, wondering what exactly it was they had to do for the Rocket Trio in exchange for more food.

Back at the river side, Brock was stirring the stew that was cooking over the fireplace he set up. "It should only be a little while longer before it's ready." Brock said. He then turned his head to see Ash and May staring at the cooking stew with their eyes wide and a big smile of excitement on their faces. "Guys, you're drooling on me." Brock commented, showing a nervous smile at the two's excitement. Just then, the group could hear the sound of wings flapping and looked up to see what it was coming from: it was the Taillow that Ash and May had run into earlier flying towards them.

"What does that Taillow want now?" Ash asked. Taillow landed on a small rock in front of the one Pikachu was standing on and started squawking as if it was trying to tell Pikachu something. "Can you tell what Taillow is saying?" May asked.

"I'll bet Taillow has come back here for a battle. Am I right, Pikachu?" Ask asked; though he wasn't exactly the professional at understanding what Pokemon were saying, he could always have a rough guess. After all, he was usually able to understand what Pikachu was trying to tell him. "(Yeah, that's right.)" Pikachu replied, nodding in confirmation.

Ash showed a smile hearing this and then nodded. "All right, then we accept, Taillow!" Ash said. May and Misty both stared in surprise hearing this. "But I don't get it. Why would Taillow do that after just trying to attack you and May?" Misty asked.

"I'll bet Taillow wants to see which Pokemon is the best. A strong opponent always makes it want to battle, so I think it wants a clear winner in its battle with Pikachu." Brock explained. With that, Taillow flew up into the air ready to start the battle.

"You ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking down at his little Partner Pokemon. Pikachu nodded in agreement and jumped onto a small rock on the river and stared up at Taillow, both of them ready for battle. "All right, let's do it!" Ash called.

With that, the battle was ready to start. Taillow swooped down flying directly above the river stream, heading right towards Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called. With that, Pikachu started to jump across the rocks on the river at lightning speeds before jumping right towards Taillow, who narrowly flew out of the way while Pikachu landed on another rock nearby. "Quick Attack usually never misses; Taillow must be really fast!" Misty commented from surprise as she watched with Togepi sitting comfortably in her arms.

Pikachu started jumping from rock to rock, avoiding Taillow as it flew over him trying to hit him. "Taillow can fly and Pikachu can't; I think Taillow might have a clear advantage." May said, showing an expression of worry as she was watching the battle unfolding. However, Ash didn't seem to be too phased by this. "That doesn't mean Taillow will have a type advantage. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash replied, showing a confident smile all the while.

As Taillow flew towards him, Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity at Taillow hitting it directly, sending Taillow falling out of the air for a few seconds before it flew back up and headed towards Pikachu, prompting him to jump out of the way. Once he landed safely, Pikachu looked over his shoulder to see Taillow flying back towards him. As Ash was watching, he showed a smile of awe. "Taillow sure is strong; it just won't quit!" he happily commented.

As Pikachu was watching Taillow fly straight towards him, he jumped into the air only to have his tail caught in Taillow's beak and sent him being lifted into the sky as Taillow soared upwards. Luckily, Pikachu had an idea to counter this and released a strong bolt of electricity, electrocuting Taillow. However, Taillow didn't seem to be affected at all as it continued to fly without showing any signs of pain.

"Wow, how persistent can that Taillow be? It's just taking Pikachu's attacks like it's nothing!" Misty commented. May nodded in agreement; she knew from experience that Taillow wouldn't back down no matter how strong its opponents were. "Yeah, you're right about that, Misty." Brock agreed.

Back with Taillow and Pikachu, once Taillow got high enough into the air, it broke out of the electricity and threw Pikachu's tail out of its beak, sending Pikachu plummeting down into the river stream. "Well, we can be pretty persistent ourselves, too." Ash said. Pikachu surfaced from underneath the river's surface and turned his head to see Taillow coming his way. As Taillow flew towards Pikachu, it tilted sideways and started scraping its wing against the water's surface. As soon as Ash saw this, he immediately smiled as he had an idea. "Here it comes, Pikachu! Finish it off with Thunder!" Ash called; he had a feeling that this would finally knock Taillow out.

With this, Pikachu released bolts of electricity that surrounded his body and started running towards Taillow, slowly picking up speed as the two neared each other. Eventually, the two slammed into each other causing an explosion that sent a large geyser of water into the air, much to the group's amazement. Once the water cleared, they could see Pikachu and Taillow staring each other down, neither of them ready to back down at all. Taillow then leapt into the air and started flapping its wings, ready for another round.

'_Taillow just won't back down. It looks like I have to take matters into my own hands, but how am I supposed to do that?' _Ash wondered to himself, looking down to think for a few moments; if Taillow wasn't going to back down on its own, how was he supposed to put an end to this battle. Just then, it hit Ash as he quickly looked back up. _'Of course!' _ With an expression of determination crossing his face, Ash grabbed one of his empty Pokeballs from his belt and pressed on the centre, causing it to grow larger; he was going to try and catch Taillow himself.

As Taillow started to fly towards Pikachu to battle more, Ash threw the Pokeball he was holding towards it. "Go, Pokeball!" Ash called. The Pokeball hit Taillow and, before Taillow had a chance to react to what hit it, opened up capturing Taillow inside it, after which it closed and landed on the stone Taillow was standing on. The Pokeball then started to shake for a few seconds, while Ash and Pikachu watched in anticipation and the others watched in surprise, before it stopped showing that Taillow had been captured. Seeing this, Pikachu let out a sigh of relief while Ash picked the Pokeball up and stared at it in surprise; he wasn't actually sure whether or not his idea would work.

Afterwards, Ash released Taillow from the Pokeball after which Taillow started panting; he was exhausted from the battle with Pikachu. "I guess all of the battling Taillow did finally caught up with it." May commented, noticing Taillow struggling to catch his breath. "It's all right now, Taillow. Calm down." Ash kindly said. Brock grabbed out a bottle of orange medicine from his bag and sprayed Taillow with it, causing him to let out a loud squawk.

"A shot of that and some rest, and you'll be as good as new in no time." Brock commented. Taillow started looking at his wings, darting his glance back and forth rapidly while Ash bent down to look at him. "So, Taillow, how do you feel about hitting the road with us?" Ash asked. Taillow showed a bright smile and happily squawked; that sounded good to him. With that, he jumped up and landed on Ash's shoulder while the latter showed a bright smile at this.

"It's great to meet you, Taillow. My name's Misty and this is Togepi." Misty said and she looked down at Togepi, who happily waved with her two small arms.

May poked her head out from behind Brock's shoulder and gave a small wave; she was still feeling a bit nervous after the encounter with the flock she and Ash had. Ash turned his head in surprise to see this, and then he showed a big smile. "May, you don't need to worry. Taillow's not going to hurt you, and I think it would like to meet you." Ash explained. Noticing Taillow showing a big smile at her, May smiled back and walked over to see him. "It's nice to meet you, Taillow. I'm May." May said. She then started scratching underneath Taillow's chin, causing him to start squawking in happiness. After a few seconds, May stopped and Ash turned his glance to Taillow.

"You know, Taillow, you're my first official Pokemon in Hoenn." Ash commented. Pikachu cheerfully jumped onto Ash's shoulder and he and Taillow cheered in excitement; Taillow was looking forward to being on Ash's team. Just then, the group could hear a loud noise coming from beside them and turned their heads to see that it was the flock of Taillow that they had run into earlier.

"It's that flock again!" Misty gasped. She quickly grabbed out one of her Pokeballs, prepared in case the flock wanted to attack them again. "They're still after us?" May asked. Pikachu quickly jumped off Ash's shoulder and landed on the rock in front of them as the flock all drifted down in front of the group.

"Don't tell me they all want to battle Pikachu..." Ash sighed; they had already given him and the others enough trouble in the woods, so he didn't want to go through that again. Taillow flew off Ash's shoulder towards the flock and started squawking, like he was trying to tell them not to attack the group.

"You won't talk them out of it, Taillow!" Taillow and the group turned their heads in surprise hearing that voice.

"Who was that?" May asked. "It's the Rocket Trio!" Misty replied. "They followed us here too? I guess some things just never change." Brock commented. Sure enough, standing there in front of them was the Rocket Trio, with Wobbuffet popping up in front of them, cheerfully blurting "Wobbuffet!"

"I think you've already met our flock of Taillow, the newest members of the Elite Team Rocket Fighting Force?" James asked.

"No way!" Ash gasped; he found it hard to believe that the Rocket Trio were able to get that whole flock of Taillow onto their side.

"With the fearsome unbeatability to battle on no matter how many electric attacks they take!" Jessie announced. "Even though unbeatability isn't a real word." James added. Wobbuffet then popped up in front of them, happily cheering "Wobbuffet!" Jessie then shoved James and Wobbuffet out of her way as she happily said "Now listen up, Taillow. The harder you battle, the more yummy rice balls you'll get!"

"Well, we'll see about that!" Ash replied. "We were able to beat you countless times in Kanto, Johto and the Orange Islands, so I see no reason why we won't be able to do it here!" Misty explained.

"Misty's right, and I'll be able to help you guys with that!" May agreed. "Well then, bring it on! Let's go, Taillow!" Jessie replied. The group of four stared fearlessly at the Rocket Trio; it was the four of them against the three of the Rocket Trio and the flock of Taillow, so they saw no reason for them to not come out on top like they always did.

Just then, the sound of an alarm went off; it was the timer Brock had set up to check when the stew would be ready. "The stew is ready!" Brock called. "And I'm ready to eat it!" May cheerfully added, jumping up and down in excitement. The group gathered around near the pot, looking at the fully prepared stew.

"It sure looks good." May commented. She then gave it a sniff and let out a happy sigh. "And it smells good as well!"

"And if we know Brock, it'll taste good too." Ash added. As the group were looking down at the stew, the Taillow flock hovered down towards them and two of them landed on Brock's shoulders.

"Hey, everyone. Would you like to join us for some lunch?" Brock asked. The Taillow then cheerfully squawked in agreement; that sounded very good to them. The Rocket Trio all watched this, staring in utter dismay that their idea wasn't a success.

"Now what?" Meowth asked. "Now they'll beat us by using our dirty tricks..." James sighed. However, Jessie quickly showed a smile as she remembered something that she didn't consider until now.

"Wait a second: Pikachu hasn't eaten yet." Jessie said. James showed a smile hearing this and nodded in agreement. "We'll attack it while it's weak from hunger." he agreed. "Another dirty trick!" Meowth happily commented jumping in the air from excitement. However, they were soon to be proven wrong in only a second.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt them!" Ash called. The Rocket Trio's eyes immediately went wide upon hearing this. Pikachu jumped into the air and released a strong bolt of electricity, hitting the Rocket Trio and sending them flying into the sky. "Sorry about that, Team Rocket. But this time you're the ones who are too late: Pikachu already ate Brock's Pokemon food." Ash explained, showing a smile in the process. Pikachu landed back on Ash's shoulder and nodded in agreement; it was the reason why he was still feeling good after everything that had happened today.

As the Rocket Trio flew through the air, they looked down in dismay. "That's nice..." Meowth sadly commented. "Everyone's eaten but us." Jessie said. "Except for that taste of our own medicine." James added. The Rocket Trio then disappeared into the sky in a flash.

Back with Ash and the others, they were happily enjoying their lunch. As May was munching on her stew, she had a big smile on her face. "Ash wasn't lying about you being a great cook, Brock; this tastes delicious!" May happily exclaimed. As she was eating, she noticed Pikachu looking up at her. "Hey, Pikachu. How come you're here?" she asked. She then remembered Pikachu watching her and Ash back at Petalburg Woods and looked back down at the little electric mouse Pokemon. "I guess you know about...how I feel for Ash, huh?" she asked.

"(Yeah, I sure do.)" Pikachu replied, nodding; he had noticed as early as when they were at Oldale Town. May then looked down and let a small sigh of disappointment.

"I haven't been able to tell Ash yet..." May commented. But then she showed a smile and an expression of determination, and she looked back down at Pikachu so he could see her smiling. "But don't you worry, Pikachu. When the right time comes, I'll tell him!" she added. Pikachu showed a big smile hearing this and nodded; that was a day he would be looking forward to.

"May, is everything all right?" May quickly turned her glance back to Ash, Brock and Misty who were wondering what she was talking about with Pikachu, with Ash having been the one who asked that. "Oh, I was just talking about how delicious Brock's food is; I guess I can really tell why you guys like it so much." May explained. The others smiled at this and nodded in agreement.

"You said it, May. Brock's a really great person to have around, isn't he?" Misty asked. "And since we found out that you have as big of an appetite, it makes cooking more fun for me, May." Brock added.

Once they were finished eating, the flock of Taillow flew back up into the air, ready to leave. Ash and the others stood up and walked over to see this. "The Taillow are leaving already?" May asked. "Maybe they've eaten all the food in this area, so now they have to find somewhere else to go." Ash explained. The group then turned their heads to see Taillow fly up to the flock and they started squawking between each other.

"I think your Taillow is saying goodbye to all of its friends, Ash." Brock commented. After a few seconds, the Taillow flock turned and started to fly off, with the group of four and Taillow watching on. Once they were gone, Ash turned his head to the others.

"I guess it's time for us to get a move on too; we're on our way to Rustboro City!" Ash said, pumping his fist in the air in anticipation. May and Misty both followed suit; they were both looking forward to this as much as Ash was.

"But before we do that, we need to wash the dishes first." Brock stated. Ash, May and Misty's arms then went sideways as did the rest of their bodies, with Pikachu toppling over on Ash's shoulder.

Sufficed to say, things were looking up for Ash and the others; Ash and May had two new friends on each of their teams, and they were now heading towards Rustboro City, with only their adventures through Petalburg Woods being a mystery to them.


	8. Knickers and Poachers

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 8: Knickers and Poachers**

Pikachu leapt up into the air, while a Beedrill hovered just in front of him; Ash, May, Brock and Misty were continuing their trek through Petalburg Woods, along with a pit spot as Ash was battling against a Trainer he had met in the forest. As Beedrill was hovering in different directions, Pikachu glared at it with sparks of electricity crackling from his cheeks. Brock was acting as the referee during the battle and May and Misty were watching the battle from standing beside him, May with a smile of awe and Misty with an expression of surprise as they were watching the two trainers.

"Beedrill, Twineedle!" The Trainer said. Beedrill lunged towards Pikachu, with its stingers aiming at him, but Pikachu quickly jumped out of the way and landed safely on the ground with an expression of determination on his face. "All right, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. With this, Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity which directly hit Beedrill, shocking it before it dropped onto the ground, knocked out.

"Beedrill is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner!" Brock announced. Ash and Pikachu both showed big smiles at this and Pikachu cheerfully ran over to Ash jumping up on his shoulder. "Great job, Pikachu!" Ash happily commented, looking over at his partner. Pikachu nodded in agreement with a big smile; he was just as happy about this victory as Ash was.

With Misty and May, May started happily clapping while Misty slowly showed a smile along with an expression of surprise. "Did you see that, Misty? Ash won! Great job, Ash!" May cheered as she was clapping, and Togepi was clapping along with her. Misty simply stared in silence; she still couldn't believe just how much of a difference she was seeing in Ash so far.

The Trainer picked Beedrill up with a smile on his face. "Good work, Beedrill." he commented. Beedrill's eyes quickly changed from swirls to normal again as it looked up at the Trainer and Ash ran over as the Trainer slowly stood up with Beedrill in his arms.

"How's Beedrill doing?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern on his face. "(Yeah, is Beedrill all right?)" Pikachu added, nodding in agreement with Ash. The Trainer turned to Ash with a bright smile and nodded.

"Beedrill's just fine. And I want to thank you for such an incredible battle. Hope I can battle you again sometime." The Trainer replied, stretching his hand out for Ash to shake, to which Ash returned the gesture. May showed a bright smile watching this and turned her glance to Misty.

"Wasn't that battle great, Misty?" May happily asked. Misty showed a smile that matched May's and nodded in agreement, and then the two turned their heads as Ash walked over to them. "Ash, that was amazing! I really wish I could have a battle like you do, or at least, one that hasn't been interrupted in the middle of it." May commented, looking down with an expression of disappointment as she remembered the two battles she had so far had both been interrupted: first was battling against the Team Magma Grunts, which was halted by their helicopter arriving to pick them up, and then there was the battle at the Battle Club which was stopped by the mishap with Zigzagoon's Sand Attack. Ash stared in surprise as he listened to May expressing her disappointment, before he showed a confident smile.

"Don't worry, May. I'm sure your opportunity will come sooner than you think. And when it does, I'll make sure that I'm rooting for you!" Ash explained, giving May a thumbs up while Pikachu showed a big smile and nodded in agreement; he would be cheering for May as well. May showed a bright smile at this support and nodded in agreement; she was now looking forward to when that time would come as well, since she knew that Ash would be supporting her.

A little later, the group were continuing their trek through Petalburg Woods and May was still thinking about the battle they had watched earlier. "Two Trainers ending their battle with a warm handshake; now that's true sportsmanship!" May happily commented. Ash was listening to May, as the four were talking together, and he showed a bright smile upon hearing this compliment. Brock turned his glance to May having heard this as well and nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's what Pokemon battling is really all about: friendship between Trainers." Brock explained. "That's for sure. If you're not out making friends, then what's the point? It always makes a journey fun to make a lot of friends on your way." Ash agreed. Misty was listening to this and then, since the others weren't busy, she figured that now would be a good time to bring up something she hadn't gotten the chance to prior.

"I don't think I've said this before, Ash, but I think you're doing a lot better than you were at Kanto." Misty commented. Ash turned his glance to Misty with an expression of surprise, wondering what she meant by that. "Let's think about it for a second. Instead of rushing into battle like you would have done before, you're thinking about what to do and planning out your moves before putting them into action." Misty explained.

Ash showed an expression of puzzlement at this. "What are you talking about, Misty? I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to attack head on while Beedrill was doing the same thing." Ash replied. Misty then shook her head, deciding not to explain it any further since she had a feeling that Ash wouldn't understand it.

"Oh, never mind. Forget that I said anything." Misty said. However, Ash didn't seem to be satisfied with this reply as he then showed an expression of annoyance. "Misty, if you're trying to tell me something, I want to hear it!" Ash retorted, wanting to get the answer while trying not to let himself get into another argument with Misty like he always would.

As Pikachu was listening to this, he turned his head to notice something and then pointed straight ahead for the others to see. "(Guys, look!)" Pikachu said before Misty had a chance to respond to Ash's comment. The group turned their glances in front of them to see what it was that Pikachu had spotted and saw just ahead of them, a bush was shaking before jumping out from behind it was a large brown and cream coloured racoon Pokemon with chocolate coloured eyes, a zig zag pattern in its fur and a black mask like shape between its eyes.

"What is that?" Misty asked, showing an expression of surprise. "It's a Zigzagoon." May replied; she remembered seeing one of them back at Petalburg City when she and Ash visited the Battle Club. The group watched as the Zigzagoon rushed off, darting back and forth between a few bushes that were on the path. Once it was gone, May shook her head in disbelief.

"I didn't think it was possible for a Zigzagoon to get _that _big." May commented. Misty showed an expression of puzzlement and turned to May, wanting to know what she was talking about. "What do you mean?" Misty asked, while Togepi titled her head slightly in confusion; she didn't understand what May meant either. May opened her bag and grabbed out her Pokedex, before typing Zigzagoon's name into it and showed the Pokedex entry to Misty.

"It says here that the average Zigzagoon is sixteen inches tall and weighs only eight pounds." May explained. Misty showed an expression of surprise hearing this information; if that was true, that meant the Zigzagoon they noticed wasn't a regular Zigzagoon.

"That's a lot smaller than that Zigzagoon." Ash commented; he seemed to share the same thoughts as the girls did. "Well, I'm sure there are a number of reasons for that, like what Zigzagoon eats." Brock said. The group then started to follow after the Zigzagoon, deciding to find out where it was heading off to. They stopped when they noticed that it was sitting on the ground noticing a small pack of Zigzagoon gathered together just up ahead.

"Look at that; there's about a dozen more of them." May commented, noticing the pack of Zigzagoon in front of them. "But they're a lot smaller, like normal size." Ash added, to which Pikachu nodded in agreement; it was obvious to them that there was something off about the larger Zigzagoon. As they looked on, they noticed that the Zigzagoon were all looking at the bushes in front of them to see a Sentret pop its head out from the bushes as well as some Pinsirs climbing the trees; it was clear to see that the wild Pokemon had caught the Zigzagoons' attention.

While the Zigzagoon were looking around, the larger one slowly poked its head out from the bush it was hiding behind, to which one of the smaller Zigzagoon turned its head to notice. Ash and the others watched in surprise, blinking twice in unison as the larger Zigzagoon stood up on its hind legs while the smaller Zigzagoon turned right around. And then the larger Zigzagoon removed its fur to reveal a young man with short dark green hair that was spiked at the back and front and he was wearing a bright yellow t-shirt with a dark red scarf around his neck along with dark blue shorts and purple running shoes and a big light blue backpack on his back; the Zigzagoon fur was just a costume. Having watched on all the while, Ash and the others screamed in alarm upon seeing this.

"It disguised itself as a human!" May cried in panic. The others turned to May in surprise hearing her say that while Misty showed an expression of irritation. "Do you think you should another look, May? Because that really is a human!" Misty retorted, glaring at May.

May's panic quickly gave way to surprise as she turned to look at the man standing in front of them a second time before turning her glance back to Misty. "I didn't know Zigzagoon could evolve into humans." May commented. Misty stared at her in stunned silence before slamming her head into her open hand; exactly where was May getting this kind of logic from? May turned to Misty seeing her reaction and then figured it would be better to figure out what was going on for herself, so she started to walk over to where the man was standing, holding a Pokeball in his hand.

"Okay, Zigzagoon! It's time for you and I to do some battling!" The man, Nicholai, announced with a confident smile on his face. But before he had a chance to throw the Pokeball and release the Pokemon he had handy, he turned his glance to see May in front of him looking at him while scratching her chin with one finger.

"He certainly looks like a human...Better to be safe than sorry." May commented to herself. She then pulled Nicholai's face down to have a better look while he had an expression of surprise on his face, and then she showed a bright smile and nodded in confirmation. "Yep! He may look a bit scrawny, but he's definitely all human." May happily said. The others had been watching all the while and while Brock and Misty were both staring at her with a mixture of puzzlement and disbelief, Ash was showing a smile of amusement and covered his mouth, trying not to laugh; he wasn't sure why, but there was something about seeing one of May's unusual antics that was making him smile.

"May, I think you can be really cute when you want to." Ash quietly commented. He quickly covered his mouth when he realised what he just said, and at the same time he was wondering why he said that, but luckily none of the others heard him with the exception of Pikachu, who was looking at him with a big smile on his face and a look that said 'I can tell what you really think of her'.

While that was happening, Nicholai turned his glance to see that the Zigzagoon were turning to leave, deciding to go elsewhere, and then he started to step forward which caused May to let go of him while she watched in silent surprise. "Wait! Zigzagoon, come back!" Nicholai called. Unfortunately, the Zigzagoon had stopped paying attention to him and had already left, to which he looked down and let out a sigh of dismay. He then turned to May showing an expression of anger. "Thanks a lot! This is your fault for not letting me catch that Zigzagoon! What's your problem, anyway?" Nicholai snapped. He then looked down with an expression of surprise to see May's short dark blue leggings and, before May had a chance to apologize for her interruption of his capture, showed a bright smile almost immediately. "Hey, you're wearing knickers too. That's so cool! You're the same as me!" Nicholai happily exclaimed.

"What?" May was simply able to ask, unable to make sense of what was happening. While this was going on, Ash and the others walked over wondering the same thing that May was.

"What do you mean, May's the same as you?" Ash asked. "Who are you, anyway?" May added. Nicholai showed a bright smile as he placed his hands on his hips, as he was more than happy to do introductions since he could tell that the group were more than puzzled and wondering what exactly he was about.

"What's my name? The truth is I have multiple names like...this one!" Nicholai replied before he put on the Zigzagoon costume he was wearing earlier, while Ash and the others simply stared in stunned silence. "At times, I'm a Zigzagoon wandering the forest!" Nicholai turned his back posing with his arms crossed, before removing the Zigzagoon costume and replaced it with a costume that was of a dark blue jellyfish Pokemon with big red pearls on its head, several long tentacles hanging down around it as he took a few steps forwards. "At other times, I'm a Tentacruel riding the ocean waves. Whee!" He then spun around rapidly in place like a top until he stopped as his Tentacruel costume was replaced by a light green costume with flower buds on either side of its head, big black eyes, red buds on its cheeks and a skirt made of dark green and yellow petals. "And other times, I'm a dancing Bellossom. But if you want to know what my true identity is, well..." Nicholai then removed the Bellossom costume showing his regular attire as he announced "I'm Nicholai. Nicholai the Knickerbocker!"

Ash and the others were simply staring at him with expressions of disbelief, unable to speak after that display. After a few seconds, Ash was the first of the group to say anything. "Okay...what's a Knickerbocker?" he simply asked.

"Yeah, I have no idea either." May commented, slowly shaking her head in agreement with Ash; she was feeling just as lost as he was. "(Me neither.)" Pikachu agreed, slowly nodding as he agreed with May.

"That's the name of naturalist Trainers like myself. We thrive on communing with nature while exposing our knees!" Nicholai explained. He then walked over to May, who was staring in silence, and placed his hands on her shoulders prompting her to look at him in surprise. "And obviously, you must be a Knickerbocker too. That's awesome! So tell me, what's your name?" Nicholai asked.

"Well...my name's May." May simply replied, having finally been able to recover from that unusual display of costumes Nicholai had to show.

"My name's Ash, and over here is my buddy, Pikachu." Ash said, turning his glance to Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, who happily waved with a big smile. "My name's Misty, and down here is my Pokemon, Togepi." Misty added, looking down at Togepi in her arms who let out a happy chirp of greeting. "And that just leaves me. I'm Brock." Brock finished.

"It's really nice to meet you, May." Nicholai replied, seemingly paying no attention to Ash, Brock and Misty. The three in question showed matching expressions of disbelief; it was as if he had ignored them completely. "Yes, that's a very worthy name for a Knickerbocker!" Nicholai continued, giving a nod of approval.

May stared in puzzlement before she showed an expression of annoyance at Nicholai's eccentricity. "Excuse me, but these are not knickers! They're plain leggings! And besides, I don't think I want to be called a Bocker either." May explained, crossing her arms in irritation. Nicholai simply showed a bright smile as if he wasn't playing attention to what she was trying to tell him.

"Now, now, calm down, May. There's no use getting your knickers in a bundle!" Nicholai replied. He then happily started to laugh while May shot him a blank stare of disbelief as she started to wonder whether or not there was something wrong with him.

Brock then looked down to notice the Zigzagoon costume Nicholai was wearing earlier lying on the grass next to him and figured that now would be a good time to ask about that. "So, tell us. Why were you dressed in that Zigzagoon suit?" Brock asked. "Yeah, it seems like something usual for a Trainer to do, isn't it?" Misty added, as she was wondering about that as well.

Nicholai let go of May's shoulders before he turned his glance to the two. "I guess you still don't get it. I wear them to become one with the Pokemon and get to know their inner feelings. As soon as I know exactly the way that they're thinking, it's easy to capture them!" Nicholai explained.

"So you do that to catch Pokemon?" Ash asked, staring in surprise. "(That sounds a bit odd to me.)" Pikachu commented, scratching his head in puzzlement and trying to figure out exactly how that worked.

"Yeah, that's right. I want to challenge the Petalburg Gym Leader." Nicholai replied. He then turned his head to the left and right as he continued "But first, I want to catch a Zigzagoon. They live right here in this forest." May showed a smile upon hearing the mention of the Petalburg City Gym.

"The Petalburg Gym, huh? I guess that means you'll be battling against my dad." May commented. Nicholai showed an expression of surprise hearing this and turned to May, blinking in disbelief. "Your dad?" he asked, trying to understand if he heard that right. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"That's right. May's dad is the Gym Leader at Petalburg City, so that's who you'll be battling against." Ash agreed. Pikachu nodded in agreement, as he remembered Ash battling against Norman while they were at Petalburg City. Nicholai showed an expression of disbelief before a big smile crossed his face.

"No way...you're kidding me!" Nicholai exclaimed. He then looked down to think for a few moments before he looked up having an idea. "Hey, I have an idea! How about I battle you, May?" he suggested. May showed an expression of surprise at this suggestion, wondering whether or not Nicholai was being serious. "If you're the daughter of a real Gym Leader, then I'm sure that battling you would be great practice for me. Plus, I'd also like to check out your skills as a Trainer. So, what do you say?" Nicholai asked.

May showed an expression of uncertainty and glanced down at the ground in front of her. "I don't know...maybe you should check out something else, Nicholai." she replied. Misty stared at her in surprise before showing a bright smile. "There's no need to be modest, May. Show him what you can do!" Misty said encouragingly. May nearly jumped in surprise and realization that Nicholai was being serious.

"Then that settles it! There's a field just up ahead where we can battle. I can't wait to go up against you, May, so what are we waiting for? Come on, let's go!" Nicholai replied, showing a smile of excitement before he turned and started to walk off ahead, gesturing for the others to follow.

May showed an expression of worry before she turned to Nicholai, seeing the direction he was walking in. "Nicholai, wait a mintue! I'm not sure if I'll be able to..." Before May could have a chance to continue, Nicholai turned to her with an expression of surprise, wondering what was wrong. "What's wrong, May? You're not afraid to battle against me, are you?" he asked.

May showed a frown upon hearing this; that was something she wasn't going to stand for. "Me, afraid? I don't think so! I accept your challenge!" she retorted, showing an expression of determination. While this was happening, the others were watching this on all the while.

"Do you guys think May knows what she's going?" Misty asked, showing an expression of concern; while she was the one to offer support to May when she was uncertain about the desicion, she was starting to worry now that she had time to think about what was going on. Brock simply showed a reassuring smile as if he knew there wouldn't be anything to worry about. "Yeah, don't worry, Misty. Besides, I think this will be great experience for May." Brock commented.

Nicholai showed a bright smile hearing May's reply. "That's great! I'll meet you guys on the field then!" he replied, before turning and walking off ahead. After a few seconds, the group started to follow after him. As they were walking, Ash could see that May was showing an expression of worry and started to walk beside her so he could try to figure out what the issue was.

"What's wrong, May?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. May turned her glance to see Ash walking beside her before she let out a small sigh, deciding to let him in on what her worries were for. "Well, it's just that...I haven't had a full battle yet. I mean, I have been in battles before, but this will be the first one that won't have an interruption in the middle of it. I'm just not sure whether or not I'll be able to do well against Nicholai." May explained, keeping her glance down to the ground in uncertainty. Ash was silent as he listened; it seemed understandable that May would be worried about having her first official battle against a Trainer. But at the same time, he knew that she didn't have any reason to worry, because she was going to have his, Misty and Brock's support and encouragement. With this, he showed a reassuring smile and placed his hand on May's shoulder which prompted her to turn her glance to him.

"May, I'm sure you'll do great. I know you haven't battled much yet, but in the battles I have seen you take part in, I know that you've been a force to be reckoned with. I know it does sound like a stretch seeing as how this is only the beginning of your journey, but that's honestly what I think. So, don't worry about whether or not you'll be good; just do the best you can." Ash explained. Pikachu showed a big smile and nodded in agreement; that was what he always did when he participated in battles and it always seemed to work out for him. May stared in surprise, having listened to Ash all the while, and then she showed a bright smile at his support and nodded.

"You're right, Ash. I'll do my best in my battle!" she replied. Ash showed a bright smile hearing this reply, and then before he could respond, he was suddenly caught off guard as May threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you; I know I can always count on you to support me." May sincerely said. Ash stared in surprise for a few moments before the smile quickly returned to his face.

"No problem, May; you know I'll always have your back no matter what." Ash replied, showing May a thumbs up. May could feel her cheeks start to glow bright red at this comment and then she turned her glance down with a shy smile. Ash stared at her in surprise for a second before a smile returned once again to his face; he really liked seeing May when she was happy, because that was how he always wanted to see her. As the two were smiling at each other, they didn't notice Misty staring at them with a jealous glare on her face.

Soon, the group arrived at the field where Nicholai was waiting for them; May and Nicholai stood on opposite ends of the field while Brock was acting as the referee, and Ash and Misty were sitting beside a tree watching the battle from the sidelines. _'Okay...here I am in my first official battle.' _May thought to herself; she could feel her nerves start to catch up with her again. She then turned her glance to see Ash and Misty watching her, and noticing Ash in particular showing her a smile of encouragement. _'What reason do I have to worry? So long as I've got the others supporting me, I won't have much to worry about. I'm sure I'll do my best!' _May said to herself, showing an expression of determination and a smile to match; she was ready to go.

She then watched as Nicholai held a Pokeball up in the air with a smile of excitement. "Okay, here I come!" Nicholai cheered, while May stared at him with an expression of disbelief. _'It's too bad it has to be against someone as...eccentric as Nicholai.' _May thought to herself, as a big sweatdrop ran down against the side of her head as she started at Nicholai. However, her thoughts were quickly interrupted when she heard Brock start to state the rules of the battle.

"Each Trainer will use one Pokemon, and the battle will be over when either one is knocked out." Brock explained. May and Nicholai both nodded in understanding; they both understood the rules clearly. And with that taken care of, the battle was ready to start.

"Mudkip, let's go!" Nicholai said, throwing his Pokeball, causing it to open and release Mudkip who landed on the ground in front of him.

"Cool, it's a Mudkip!" Ash happily commented, having remembered seeing one at Professor Birch's lab, and grabbed out his Pokedex so he could see Mudkip's Pokedex entry. "Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon. Mudkip uses the sensitive fin on its head to take a radar reading of its surroundings." The Pokedex explained. After hearing the entry, Ash grabbed his Pokedex back in his bag ready to watch the battle now.

"Ready? Mudkip change!" Nicholai announced before donning into an outfit resembling Mudkip with letting out a cheerful yell with a big smile on his face. Ash and Misty both stared at him with matching expressions of disbelief wondering the same thing: could Nicholai get any stranger? Pikachu showed an expression just like theirs as his ears drooped down. May simply stared at him in bewilderment, as she was starting to wonder how odd Nicholai could get. However, since she was distracted by that, she hadn't remembered to get her Pokemon out yet.

"Choose your Pokemon, May." Brock said, turning to her. May nearly jumped hearing this, having been snapped out of her thoughts, but then she nodded in agreement and reached for her bag before grabbing one of her Pokeballs from it.

"All right, Torchic, I choose you!" May called before throwing the Pokeball, prompting it to open and release Torchic, who had a big smile on her beak as she was ready to battle. Nicholai simply stared in disbelief at her choice, while Misty showed an expression of concern.

"That's not good...May's using a Fire-type against a Water-Type. Already, she's at a type disadvantage." Misty worriedly commented. Ash turned his glance to Misty hearing her say that and he quickly showed a confident smile. "Yeah, but May can use good strategy to make up for the disadvantage!" he replied. Misty showed a smile and nodded: she had to admit that she couldn't agree more than Ash on that.

"And now, let the battle begin!" Brock announced. With this, May looked down at Torchic who was standing in front of her with an expression of determination on her face.

"Okay, Torchic, you ready?" May asked. Torchic promptly nodded in agreement; she was more than ready to start battling. "All right then! Torchic, use Ember!" May called, pointing to Mudkip.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun! Let's go!" Nicholai said at the same time. With this, Torchic shot out small blasts of fire from her beak while Mudkip released a strong blast of water from his mouth which easily doused the flames without much effort. Torchic quickly showed an expression of worry seeing this; already, she didn't like the direction this battle was taking. Luckily, May seemed to have an idea.

"Torchic, let's give them a taste of your Peck attack!" May said. With this, Torchic's beak started to glow bright white and she started to charge towards Mudkip.

"No, May! Don't attack straight on! That's setting yourself up for an easy disadvantage!" Misty called, showing an expression of worry. Ash quickly turned his glance to her, to which she immediately decided to keep her mouth shut. "Misty, don't worry! I'm sure May knows what she's doing." Ash replied, before turning his attention back to the battle to see what May was going to do.

"Mudkip, let's use Water Gun again!" Nicholai said. With this, Mudkip shot out a strong blast of water from his mouth again, aiming directly at Torchic.

However, May wasn't going to let him knock her down that easily. "Torchic, let's dodge Water Gun!" she called. Torchic promptly jumped out of the way as the blast of water flew past her and then she charged straight forward before slamming into Mudkip directly with her beak, sending him flying backwards across the ground. However, Mudkip didn't seem fazed as he got up almost immediately afterwards. "All right, it worked! Now let's try using Scratch!" May said, with a big smile on her face seeing that her idea worked. Torchic then started to run towards Mudkip as the small claws on the end of her feet started to glow white and then she jumped up into the air to strike Mudkip.

"Mudkip, use Mud Slap!" Nicholai called. Mudkip turned around and started to kick up some of the dirt on the ground, which flew towards Torchic and hit her in the face, sending her flying backwards to land the ground, which prompted May to show an expression of worry.

"Torchic! Are you all right?" she asked. Torchic slowly got up and shook her head rapidly, shaking off most of the dirt from her face. Unfortunately, some of the dirt had gotten in Torchic's eyes which meant she couldn't see where Mudkip was. As she was looking around blindly, May pointed forward so Torchic knew where to go. "Mudkip's that way!" May called. However, since Torchic couldn't see anything, she then turned and started to run off to the left, which resulted in her running into a tree. However, she quickly jumped to her feet and shook her head rapidly before turning around and running off in another direction while May and Nicholai watched.

"Torchic, over here! Listen to my voice!" May called. Torchic then stopped running and turned around before slowly walking over, having heard May call her and stopped when she was facing Mudkip again. However, May showed an expression of concern as she was feeling a bit lost now. _'What am I supposed to do now? Torchic can't see a thing thanks to Mudkip's Mud Slap attack. How is Torchic supposed to attack if she can't see Mudkip?' _May worriedly asked to herself.

"May!" Hearing that, May snapped out of her thoughts and turned her glance to notice that it was Ash calling her, as he was watching from the sidelines with Misty sitting beside her. "Try to get Mudkip to use Water Gun to get the dirt out of Torchic's eyes!" Ash suggested.

May showed an expression of surprise hearing this and turned her attention back to the battle. "How am I supposed to do that, though?" she asked. She then looked down to think for a few seconds before a smile crossed her face. "I know!" she happily commented, getting an idea. With her idea set in her head, May looked down at Torchic. "Okay, Torchic, let's charge towards Mudkip!" May called. Hearing that, Torchic started to run forward aiming for Mudkip.

"This is going to be easier than I thought. Mudkip, Water Gun!" Nicholai called. With that, Mudkip shot out a strong blast of water from his mouth which shot forward and hit Torchic directly. However, some of the water was enough to clear the dirt from Torchic's eyes and she immediately opened her eyes.

"It worked! Now, Torchic, use Peck!" May cheered. Torchic's beak then started to glow white and she charged right through the blast of water before hitting Mudkip directly, sending him flying backwards and hitting the ground directly. Mudkip struggled to get up for a few seconds before collapsing, his eyes replaced with swirls as he was knocked out.

"Mudkip is unable to battle. Torchic is the winner!" Brock said. May showed a bright smile at this and jumped up in the air in victory, while Torchic jumped up and down, thrilled by her success. "All right, we did it! We won! Great job, Torchic!" May cheered, looking down at Torchic. Torchic turned to May with a big smile and then ran over, jumping into May's arms.

Nicholai then bent down and picked up Mudkip. "You okay, Mudkip?" he asked. Mudkip's swirls quickly changed back into his regular eyes and he looked up at Nicholai with a big smile. "That's great. Thanks for the battle." Nicholai replied, showing a smile of relief. He then removed the Mudkip costume showing his regular attire and then walked over to May, with Mudkip having climbed onto his shoulder. "I don't believe it! I didn't think that the daughter of a Gym Leader would be that strong. I think the Petalburg Gym Leader will be tougher for me than I thought. I better get back to looking for a Zigzagoon, and then I'll be ready to go. So long, my fellow Knickerbocker!" Nicholai happily commented, before he turned and started to walk off ahead while Ash and the group watched in silence. May simply showed a smile; she was just thrilled that she was able to pull through and win the battle in the end despite the disadvantage she got through Mudkip's Mud Slap.

As Nicholai was walking down the path, he didn't notice that the Rocket Trio were watching from a bush nearby and they were looking through their electronic binoculars to see Mudkip sitting on his shoulder. "Is that a Mudkip?" Jessie asked. James lifted down his pair of binoculars and nodded with a big smile.

"Indeed, it is! And behind that cute exterior lies a battling brute. We could do a lot worse than decate one of them, believe me." James commented. Jessie and Meowth then lifted their binoculars down from their eyes as Meowth had an idea. "You know what would happen if we brought the Boss one of them babies? We'd climb the corporate ladder so fast we'd get run burns!" Meowth commented.

With that idea set, Jessie turned to her team partners with a big smile. "Stop the lip flap and begin Operation: Mudkip Capture!" she said. James and Meowth both turned to her with matching smiles and nodded in agreement. Wobbuffet then suddenly popped out of his Pokeball in front of them and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

Back with Nicholai, he had changed into his Zigzagoon costume and started to run off ahead into the woods. He stopped running once he came into a clear area and started to throw orange berries in different directions to try and get Zigzagoon to come out of the trees.

As with Ash and the others, they were continuing their trek after the battle with Nicholai. "To think I actually won that battle! But I didn't think that it would be against a goofball like Nicholai. I mean, really! Knickerbockers, naturalists...What is up with him?" May commented, shrugging in puzzlement towards Nicholai's manner of catching Pokemon.

"Don't worry about it too much, May. That's just the way he's decided he'd like to catch Pokemon." Brock commented. "Yeah, that's right. Some Trainers have their own approaches when it comes to catching Pokemon, so I wouldn't worry about it." Misty agreed. May nodded in understanding, but it still didn't seem to make much sense to her.

However, their walking was halted when they saw a small bunch of orange berries land on the ground in front of them. "What are those?" Misty asked as they stared in surprise. May walked over to where the berries were on the ground, bent down and picked them up to have a look for herself. After a few seconds, she stood up and turned to the others to show them.

"Guys, I think these are berries. Zigzagoon love these kinds of berries the most." May explained. Within only a second after she said that, the group turned their heads to find that a large pack of Zigzagoon were standing on all sides, growling at them and staring at the berries May had in her hands. "Oh, that's not good...I think I can handle this, though." May commented as the others stared in worry. She then walked over and bent down to look at the Zigzagoon as they gathered over. "It's okay, everyone. I've got some berries you like and there's enough for everyone here." May said. However, one of the Zigzagoon responded by kicking up some dirt at May, to which she had enough time to cover her face away from getting hit.

"May, are you all right?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. May raised her arms down before turning to the others and nodding. "Yeah, I'm okay. But, what are the Zigzagoon so upset about?" May responded, turning her glance to the Zigzagoon with an expression of worry.

"I think they're upset that we interrupted them as they were about to eat." Misty commented. As the swarm of Zigzagoon surrounded the group, May quickly hid behind Ash while he stepped forward to try and calm the Zigzagoon down.

"We're sorry for interrupting you. We didn't mean any harm by it!" Ash explained. However, the Zigzagoon didn't seem to pay any attention to him as they continued to glare at the group while growling. Suddenly, a brown and cream coloured blur went by the Zigzagoon and stood in front of the group: it was Nicholai. "It's Nicholai, with Mudkip!" Ash commented as he and the others started to show smiles of relief to see him.

Nicholai started to chatter just like the Zigzagoon and then turned to lead them away from the group, with the pack following behind him. "All of the Zigzagoon are following Nicholai!" Ash commented. The group then started to follow after him, deciding to find out why.

Nicholai and Mudkip led the Zigzagoon towards a tree, which he rammed into, knocking off a bunch of Berries which landed on the ground and then the Zigzagoon ran over to start eating them. "Mudkip, use Water Gun!" Nicholai said, pointing to another few trees up ahead. With this, Mudkip shot out a blast of water from his mouth at each tree, knocking down a bunch of Berries from each tree, where a few of the Zigzagoon from the pack ran over to start eating. Once all of the Zigzagoon had started munching on the Berries, Nicholai pulled the hood of his costume down with a smile.

"Guys, look! The Zigzagoon are all eating the fruit!" Misty said, pointing to where the Zigzagoon were. Nicholai turned his head to see the group walking over to see what was happening. "Thanks, Nicholai. You really helped us out there." Ash commented.

"Think nothing of it; we all need help sometimes. Besides, us Knickerbockers have got to look out for each other, you know what I mean? Am I right, May?" Nicholai asked, turning his glance to May and winking at her. May showed an expression of surprise at this before she simply showed a smile and nodded in agreement.

A little later, the group were sitting against a tree while Pikachu and Mudkip were both together, happily talking to the Zigzagoon. "Nicholai, is it all right if I ask you a question?" May asked. Nicholai turned to her with an expression of surprise, wondering what she had to ask. "How did you learn to talk to Zigzagoon so well? I mean, I didn't really learn anything about that when I was at Trainers' School." May commented. Nicholai stared at her in silence before he showed a bright smile.

"You don't need to use words to communicate with Pokemon, May. You just need to say what's in here." Nicholai said, placing a hand where his heart would be. May showed an expression of fascination hearing this while the others showed a bright smile.

"He's right. You just need to say what's in your heart." Brock agreed. May then showed an expression of puzzlement as she scratched her head, trying to make sense of what Nicholai was trying to say.

"So let me get this straight: we need to learn about all these crazy attacks while speaking with our hearts? How does any of it add up, though?" May wondered. The others started to smile in amusement, and then Ash made himself comfortable as he sat beside May so he could explain this to her.

"May, I think what Nicholai is trying to say is that we just need to say what we really feel inside." Ash explained. May slowly showed a smile as she understood what that meant. "And then our Pokemon will understand what we really mean!" she finished.

"Exactly!" Ash confirmed, nodding in agreement with May's statement. He then pointed to May's eyes as he continued "And often times, we don't need to say anything at all, because our eyes will speak the truth for us."

"Really?" May asked, an expression of awe showing on her face. She then leaned forward to have a look at Ash's eyes to find out whether or not that was true, with him staring at her in surprise. After a few seconds, May let out a sigh of annoyance and slowly shook her head. "I don't think that was a success." she sighed. Ash simply showed a smile of amusement at this.

"Well, sometimes it doesn't make sense at first. But we figure these things out as time goes on." Ash commented. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; she had a feeling that statement reflected their feelings for each other. While she could tell he wasn't sure yet, she was waiting until the answer was clear to him, and then she would tell him.

"Yeah; I'll show you what I mean." Nicholai said. With this, he stood up and pointed to a Zigzagoon that was near the front of the pack. "You, Zigzagoon there! Why don't you have a battle with us?" he asked, with Mudkip trotting over ready to go. The Zigzagoon looked up and nodded; that meant it accepted Nicholai's challenge.

With this, Nicholai changed from his Zigzagoon costume to his Mudkip costume. "Now, Mudkip, use Water Gun!" Nicholai called. Mudkip shot a strong blast of water from his mouth, but Zigzagoon dogged out of the way running in a zig zag pattern before charging into Mudkip. Mudkip slid across the ground, but quickly got back up. The two Pokemon started to charge at each other from different directions while dodging out of the way at the same time while Ash and the others watched the battle.

"Those Mudkip and Zigzagoon are amazing!" May commented, watching the battle in awe. "Keep it up, Nicholai!" Misty called as encouragement.

Mudkip then jumped into the air facing Zigzagoon. "Are you ready, Mudkip? Use Water Gun!" Nicholai called. Mudkip shot a strong blast of water from his mouth, which hit Zigzagoon and sent it flying into the air before it started to drop to the ground, knocked out. "Pokeball, let's go!" Nicholai said before throwing an empty Pokeball, which opened as soon as it hit Zigzagoon and drew it inside, and then closed before dropping onto the ground and started to shake while Nicholai, Zigzagoon, the Zigzagoon pack and Ash and the others watched on. After a few seconds, the Pokeball stopped shaking which meant that Zigzagoon was captured. "Yeah! I caught me a Zigzagoon!" Nicholai cheered.

Mudkip let out a happy cheer, but suddenly a large metal claw reached out from beside him and grabbed him, before pulling back up into the air. Ash and the others looked up to see that the claw came from the Meowth balloon with the Rocket Trio inside and Meowth controlling the claw from levers included on the balloon. Jessie and James were leaning against each other, back to back, and Wobbuffet popped up blurting "Wobbuffet!"

"It's Team Rocket!" Ash gasped. "(Not you guys again!)" Pikachu added. Mudkip looked down in worry as the claw slowly lifted him up towards the balloon.

"Hey! Give me back my Mudkip!" Nicholai snapped. "Not today!" Jessie replied, showing a big smile.

James and Meowth both looked down from the ground, James having his arms crossed. "I wear full length pants, but I'm still a naturalist. I'm just naturally dishonest." James commented. "And even though I don't wear any pants, I'm still a natural thief!" Meowth added, as he pulled a lever to lift the claw up to the balloon with Mudkip in its grip.

"Pikachu, let's Thunderbolt them!" Ash said. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and released a strong bolt of electricity aimed at the balloon. However, James pressed a button on the lever controls which opened the bottom of the balloon to reveal a satellite dish which absorbed the electricity and sent it flying back down to the group, which they barely had time to get out of the way of.

"How does that feel?" Jessie asked. "The shock's on you this time." James commented. "At least we're keeping up with current events." Meowth said. Mudkip was now inside a cage the Rocket Trio had and he let out a cry of worry. "Later!" The Rocket Trio called in unison as the balloon drifted up into the air while the group watched.

"Not so fast!" Nicholai called before he removed his Mudkip costume and swapped it for an Aipom costume he had in his bag and then he started to run on all fours after the balloon. "Don't worry, Mudkip! I'm coming!" Nicholai called as he ran rapidly up the cliif face where the balloon was floating.

Back down on the ground, the pack of Zigzagoon could see what was and, feeling inspired by Nicholai's example, looked at each other agreeing to offer some help too. With this, they started to dig into the ground as they were digging a hole. "Why do you think those Zigzagoon are digging like that?" May asked as she and the others watched this.

"I think they understand how Nicholai feels and I bet they want to help Mudkip too." Brock explained. May stared in silence before a big smile crossed her face; she was starting to understand what Nicholai told them earlier about speaking with their hearts.

Back with Nicholai, he arrived at the top of the cliff face and swapped his Aipom costume for a Gligar costume, and then jumped off the cliff face gliding towards the balloon, and grabbed the cage Mudkip was in from James's hand. The Rocket Trio looked down to see this and then they stared in alarm realising they had been taken by surprise. "You're safe now, Mudkip. Are you okay?" Nicholai asked, looking down at the cage. Mudkip showed a bright smile and nodded; he was perfectly okay despite the worry he felt.

The Rocket Trio then glared down from the balloon in irritation. "No fair! Give us back our Mudkip!" they snapped in unison.

"No way! All right, Taillow, use Peck!" Ash called as he threw out one of his Pokeballs, which opened and released Taillow, who then flew up towards the balloon. He pecked the side of the balloon a few times before a hole popped through, while the Rocket Trio stared in alarm, sending the balloon flying through the air before it crashed down to the ground, leaving the Rocket Trio in the hole the Zigzagoon had dug up. As the smoke cleared, the Rocket Trio sat up to find themselves in the hole surrounded by a Zigzagoon pack.

"It's a pitfall trap!" May commented in surprise. Ash showed a smile and nodded in agreement. "That's right. The Rocket Trio are always doing that to us, so now we're turning their trick against them." Ash said. However, that didn't sit with the Rocket Trio as they glared up at the group.

"I'll have you know that we hold the copyright on pitfall traps!" Jessie snapped. "And you're looking at a lawsuit!" James added. "Criminals!" Meowth complained. The Rocket Trio then slowly climbed out of the hole, with Jessie commenting "Remind me to call my lawyer...", and looked up to find themselves face to face with Ash and the others.

"You're not going anywhere, Rocket Trio." Ash warned. "(That's right. We have you right where you should be.)" Pikachu agreed, slowly nodding while the others simply stood beside them.

"Just watch us." Jessie replied. With this, she and James sent out Arbok and Weezing respectively. As Ash was ready to teach them a lesson, he turned his head to see that May had stepped forward, ready to take them on.

"We'll see about that, won't we? Let's go, Ralts!" May called, before throwing out one of her Pokeballs which released Ralts, who landed on the ground in front of her. "All right, Ralts, use Confusion!" May said, pointing at both Arbok and Weezing. With this, Ralts sent out light purple psychic waves which hit both Arbok and Weezing, sending them flying backwards and slamming into Jessie and James. Nicholai had just arrived back from getting Mudkip out of the cage to see this happening.

"Great job, May! We'll take over from here. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity which hit the Rocket Trio and sent them flying into the sky, where they disappeared in a twink.

"Yeah, we did it!" May cheered, jumping up into the air with Ralts following suit while Ash watched her with a bright smile. All of the Zigzagoon were all brightly smiling, thrilled by their success. "I guess everything's okay again, now." Brock commented. Ash nodded in agreement; it seemed to be that way to him now.

"Ash!" Ash turned his head to see Nicholai running over to him with Mudkip back on his shoulder. "That was some pretty slick battling for someone who doesn't even wear knickers." Nicholai commented. Ash showed a bright smile and turned around to face Nicholai.

"Thanks, Nicholai. I think it went just as well as when I battled the Petalburg Gym Leader." Ash replied. Nicholai showed an expression of disbelief upon hearing this.

"Wait, you beat the Petalburg Gym Leader?" he asked. He then crossed his arms as he looked down to think. "Maybe it won't be as tough as I thought."

"Oh, don't worry about it. My dad is strong, it's just that Ash happened to be stronger. Isn't that right?" May commented, looking over at Ash with a bright smile on her face. Ash turned to her with a matching smile and nodded in agreement. "But believe me, you won't earn any badges there without a tough fight." May added, showing a confident smile at the fact that Nicholai would be in for a tough battle once he got there.

"I guess that makes sense. If that's the case..." Nicholai turned to Ash with a confident smile. "How would you like to battle with me, Ash?" he asked.

Ash showed a big smile and nodded. "You got it! I was hoping you'd ask." he happily replied, with Pikachu nodding in agreement with him.

Sometime later, Ash and Nicholai both stood on opposite ends of the field they were battling on, and Nicholai was wearing his Zigzagoon costume. "Let's make this a great first battle, Zigzagoon!" Nicholai said, with Zigzagoon standing on the field with a determined expression on his face.

"It's our first battle too, Taillow, so let's go!" Ash commented, pointing to the field as Taillow flew out from behind him. The two Pokemon both glared at each other as the battle was ready to start.

"All right, Zigzagoon, let's use Tackle!" Nicholai called. "Taillow, dodge quickly!" Ash replied. Zigzagoon charged towards Taillow before the latter flew up and out of the way, leaving the two Pokemon chasing after each other. As the battle was taking, Brock was acting as the referee again, while May and Misty watched as well as Pikachu and Mudkip.

"Look at that, Misty. Since they're both using a new Pokemon, it's almost as if they're both having a battle for the first time." May commented, watching the battle with a smile of awe. "I guess that means that everyone still has something to learn, right?" Misty asked. Togepi let out a happy chirp from inside Misty's arms; she couldn't agree more.

Pikachu and Mudkip were both watching this, cheering for their respective Trainers. "(Let's go, Ash! Show him what you've got!)" Pikachu called. "(Come on, Nicholai, let's go!)" Mudkip added.

As the battle continued, May was still thinking about what Nicholai told them about speaking to Pokemon with her hearts, she was starting to realise what that meant: connecting with her Pokemon and showing them how important they were to her. That was a lesson she was sure she wouldn't forget anytime soon.

Sometime later, the group were continuing their way through Petalburg Woods with Nicholai alongside them; Misty was having a look at the PokeNav to see where they were since May had let her hold onto it for the time being. "Man, that was a great battle, Ash! I had no idea that you were so strong!" Nicholai commented with a smile of awe while Mudkip sat on his shoulder; though it was a bit of a long battle, Ash was ultimately the one to come out on top in the end.

"Thanks! I've been travelling for quite a while, so I picked up a lot of experience on my way." Ash replied. "(That's right!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a big smile.

The group had been walking for quite some time and didn't seem to notice that May was dragging behind them; she was walking slowly with her arms hanging down in front of her as she was exhausted from walking for a while. "I'm not happy!" May groaned as she stopped to rest for a few moments. The others turned their heads to see May standing there while they had gone off a few paces ahead.

"May, we just finished taking a break." Ash commented. "(Yeah.) Pikachu agreed, nodding. May then slowly dropped down to sit on the ground resting her hands in front of her.

"I wouldn't call that a break, though..." May commented, looking down at the ground in dismay. Ash showed an expression of concern before he started to scratch his head. "I guess that means we'll have to take another one, then." Ash said. He then walked over to May and held his hand out to her, to which she lifted her head and looked up in surprise to see him looking at her with a reassuring smile. "At the very least, I don't want to see you feeling down in the dumps." Ash commented. May stared in silence before she slowly showed a big smile and placed her hand in Ash's. While that was happening, Misty looked down at the PokeNav to see a circle with a red P shape on it, not too far ahead from the blue dot that indicated where they were.

"Guys, look! There's a Pokemon Centre just ahead from where we are." Misty said, pointing down at the map so the others could see. Brock immediately showed a big smile as the end of his eye twinkled. Upon hearing this, May jumped up on her feet with a bright smile as Ash nearly jumped back from surprise.

"There is? Really?!" May excitedly asked. She nearly jumped back from surprise as Brock ran over to her and grabbed her by the hand. "In that case, off we go then!" Brock said, turning around to keep going, not noticing that he was pulling May behind him. Ash did notice, though, and he crossed his arms while showing an expression of annoyance; he wasn't enjoying seeing Brock treat May roughly.

"Let go...you're hurting my arm!" May snapped as she pulled her hand loose from Brock's grip. Unfortunately that caused her to stumble backwards, while Brock and Ash turned their heads to see this and showed expressions of surprise and concern respectively, and slam against a tree behind her with her back. But when she did so, May felt something on the tree and then turned around and bent down to see what it was. "What's that?" May asked, showing an expression of surprise. Ash had run over to see if May was all right and looked down with her to see what she found: it was a small spear with a bit of torn net hanging from it, and they could see that the tree's bark had been scratched in a few places.

"There's something strange sticking out of this tree." May said, pointing down at the little spear pinned into the tree. "Yeah, you're right..." Ash commented, slowly nodding in agreement. Pikachu turned his head to notice something and pointed ahead for the others to look; they could see that in front of them, the bark on the trees had been scraped off in a few different places.

"Something certainly happened here. But what do you think it could be?" May asked, looking around with an expression of surprise. While that was happening, Ash pulled the torn net out of the tree where they found it and held it close as they looked at the surrounding area. "Do you think it could have been a Pokemon battle?" Misty suggested.

"I guess so, but..." Ash looked down at the torn part of a net they had found as he wondered "Who would use this in a Pokemon battle?"

Sometime later, the group arrived at the Pokemon Centre; it was a light green building with a circle shaped roof that was bright orange and had a dark red P symbol on the roof. "Hello?" May called as they looked around. Just then, Nurse Joy arrived at the front desk with a bright smile and she waved in greeting.

"Welcome to my Pokemon Centre." Nurse Joy greeted. Brock showed a big smile as a blush streaked across his face. "Nurse Joy!" he happily exclaimed, but then he was suddenly pushed aside by May, who stood at the front desk with a big smile on her face, happy to see Nurse Joy again.

"Hey there! Did they transfer you from Oldale Town, Nurse Joy?" May asked. Nurse Joy simply stared in surprise, wondering what she was talking about, while Brock simply stood there in disbelief while Nicholai looked at him with an expression of puzzlement, wondering what was wrong with him. "It's May, remember? You really helped me and Ash out at the Pokemon Centre back there." May explained, deciding to do a recap so that she would remember who they were.

"Well, I don't see how that's possible since I haven't seen any of you before." Nurse Joy replied, showing a nervous smile. "Never?" May asked in disbelief, before she leaned forward placing her hands on the front desk. "But you're Nurse Joy, right?" she asked.

Ash and the others simply watched in amusement, while Nicholai was simply staring in puzzlement. "Could you guys fill me in on what's going on? Do you guys know Nurse Joy?" he asked. Ash simply shook his head before he turned towards May and gently pulled her back over by the shoulders while she was still trying to make sense of what was happening here.

"Ash, what's going on? How come Nurse Joy doesn't know me?" May asked. Ash simply shook his head in amusement before deciding to fill May in on what the deal was. "May, every Nurse Joy at a Pokemon Centre is a different person. But they're all related and have the same name." Ash explained. May let out a gasp of surprise, and then she turned her glance back to Nurse Joy to find out if that was true.

"That's right. The Nurse Joy in Oldale Town is my older sister." Nurse Joy explained. May showed an expression of surprise hearing this before looking back at Ash. "So you're telling the truth about this?" she asked.

Ash simply nodded in agreement. "I sure am, May. Cross my heart and swear on my Trainer's honour." Ash replied, drawing an x with his finger across his chest where his heart would be. Misty showed an expression of confusion, wondering when Ash came up with that.

With Brock, he was sitting on the floor with waterfalls flooding from his eyes and he was pressing his two forefingers together. "This is so not fair! I didn't even get a chance to talk to her this time!" Brock groaned; he was upset about not getting a chance to talk to Nurse Joy. Ash showed a smile of amusement looking down at him while Nicholai turned to him with an expression of surprise.

"Uh, is Brock okay, Ash?" Nicholai asked. "Yeah, he's all right. He's just upset that he didn't get to see Nurse Joy." Ash replied. While that conversation was taking place, Misty was having a look at Brock's guidebook and a bright smile crossed her face when she came to one particular page.

"Hey, May, look at this!" Misty said, showing the guidebook to May. May grabbed the guidebook from Misty to see what she found, and let out a gasp of surprise: there was a photo in the guidebook showing a bunch of Nurse Joys sitting together. "I know, right? It's amazing how each Nurse Joy runs a Pokemon Centre, they're all a different person, but they also all look exactly alike!" Misty commented.

"Please!" The group turned their heads to see that it was Brock who had said that; he was standing up having recovered from his little display of emotional dismay. "You're so naive. Nurse Joy's uniqueness is easily seen." Brock explained. He then turned and grabbed Nurse Joy's hands while she stared in surprise. "It's completely obvious; I can tell the difference. Your bangs are a millimetre longer." Brock explained. Nurse Joy stared in stunned silence for a few moments before she showed a nervous smile. The others stared with different reactions: Ash with a smile of awe, May and Nicholai with matching expressions of puzzlement and Misty staring in disbelief before she let out a sigh and lowered her head into her open hand. "Not this again..." Misty groaned to herself; this had happened almost every time they had met a Nurse Joy during their travels, and it was something Misty was getting fed up with by this point.

"Wow, that's awesome. Brock, you're amazing!" Ash happily commented. "(Yeah, he is.)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a smile that matched Ash's.

"Brock's really something else, huh?" Nicholai asked. "He's something else, all right." May commented, showing both a nervous smile and an expression of both puzzlement and disbelief. Just then, Ash turned his glance up as he remembered something he hadn't thought about until now.

"I need to call a few people!" Ash suddenly realised. With this, he ran over to where the phone booths were and pulled out the seat of one of them, making himself comfortable before he grabbed the phone. He then started to dial one number and pressed the phone to his answer, and waited a few seconds before the picture of an envelope appeared on the screen. "You have received a message from Oldale Town." The female voice on the computer said, before the envelope disappeared to reveal Brock and Misty on the screen with Misty talking on the phone.

"Hi, Ash! It's Brock and Misty here! We've got great news for you: we managed to make it here to Hoenn, so that means we're getting to travel with you again!" Misty called, waving to the screen. Ash stared in puzzlement, wondering what was going on and why Brock and Misty were on the screen. "Make sure to check this message out when you have the time, and stop making us have to try and catch up with you. When we get there, I'll give you a lecture you won't forget!" Misty continued, showing a nasty glare near the end of that statement.

"Misty, we shouldn't really hold this against Ash; he doesn't know we're coming yet." Brock nervously commented, trying to calm Misty down. "Well, he will when he gets this! Now we better get a move on before he leaves us behind again." Misty retorted, before hanging up which prompted the screen to turn off, leaving Ash staring in puzzlement.

"What was that about?" Ash asked. He looked down to think before he remembered Misty mentioning that she and Brock sent a message back when they were on Route 104. _'That must have been the message Misty was talking about. Well, better late than never.'_ Ash thought to himself. Just then, the screen turned on again to reveal that Tracey had picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked. Upon seeing Tracey's face on the screen, Ash showed a big smile.

"Hey, Tracey! It's great to see you again!" Ash happily said. A bright smile crossed Tracey's face as he recognized Ash; despite the increase in age, it was obvious Ash's appearance hadn't changed much at all. "Hey, Ash. I wasn't expecting you to call. What's up?" Tracey asked, wondering what reason Ash had to call him up.

"I heard from Misty about you and Daisy getting together. That's great for you two!" Ash explained. "(Yeah, congratulations!)" Pikachu happily agreed showing a big smile while saying that.

"Thanks, Ash. I was going to help Professor Oak, but since Gary is there, Misty's sisters called me and asked if I would like to help them instead, so I accepted the offer. Imagine my surprise when Daisy asked me to be my boyfriend; it was quite a shock, I can tell you that!" Tracey explained as he remembered exactly what his reaction was when Daisy asked him that. Ash simply showed a smile of amusement; he had to wonder what exactly happened there. "I better get going, now. I'm helping Daisy with battling, and I'm going to be the one to challenge her. It was great to hear from you again, though!" Tracey continued, showing a big smile while he was talking.

"Okay! See you later, Tracey!" Ash replied, nodding in understanding. "(See you!)" Pikachu added, waving to the screen. With that, Tracey hung up after which the screen turned off. After that conversation was over, Ash started to dial another number since there was someone else he had to talk to. Once the number was dialled, Ash waited for a few seconds before the screen turned on and the person answering became visible: it was his mum, Delia Ketchum.

"Hello?" Delia asked. A bright smile quickly showed on her face when she saw who was calling her. "Oh, hi, Ash! I was just about to call you and ask you where you are." Delia said.

"Hey, Mum. I just wanted to let you know that I've arrived in the Hoenn Region. I meant to call you as soon as I arrived, but other things came up and I completely forgot about it. Sorry about that." Ash explained, showing a nervous smile and scratching his head as he remembered how he got sidetracked from it due to meeting Professor Oak and helping to find May.

Luckily, Delia didn't seem to be bothered by it because she shook her head in understanding. "That's okay. I've been busy as well and didn't think about calling to ask you if you were okay. Where are you now?" she asked.

"I'm on my way to Rustboro City and when I get there, I'm going to go for my first Hoenn Gym Badge!" Ash replied. Delia showed a bright smile hearing this and started happily clapping. "Wow, that's great, honey! Please make sure you call me to let me know how the battle worked out." Delia commented. Ash simply nodded; he would remember to do that when he was in Rustboro City.

"Ash, who are you talking to?" Hearing that voice behind him, Ash turned his head to see that it was May, who was wondering what he was doing. On the screen, Delia looked up with an expression of surprise, as she was wondering who that was calling Ash. When Ash noticed May walking over to him, he showed a big smile.

"May! I wanted you to meet someone." Ash said. May walked over to the screen to see who it was, while Ash turned his attention back to the screen. "Mum, I want you to meet my new friend, May. She's starting her Pokemon journey here in Hoenn. May, this is my mum." Ash explained, turning his glance between the two as he was doing the introduction. May looked down at the screen to see Delia, who looked at her before showing a big smile and happily waving to her.

"It's wonderful to meet you, May!" Delia cheerfully commented. May showed a nervous smile before she waved to the screen. "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs Ketchum." May replied. She then jumped when she realised what she meant and showed an expression of worry. "Is it all right if I call you Mrs Ketchum?" she quickly asked.

Delia stared in surprise for a few moments before her cheerful smile quickly returned and she nodded. "Of course it is." Delia replied. May showed a smile of relief hearing this; she just wanted to make sure she wouldn't get in trouble just meeting Ash's mum. "I'm guessing you two met when Ash arrived there?" Delia asked.

"We sure did, Mum. We've both been travelling together, and Brock and Misty have joined us as well." Ash agreed, nodding. Delia showed an expression of surprise hearing that last part. "Brock and Misty are with you two? I thought they said they wouldn't be able to come with you to Hoenn." Delia commented.

"I thought the same thing. But they managed to find a way to get here: Brock's brothers are training to run the Pewter City Gym and Tracey is helping Misty's sisters since Gary is helping Professor Oak." Ash explained. Delia nodded in understanding as the smile returned to her face.

"Well, that's good to hear that you're all travelling together. I bet it's going to be a lot of fun for the four of you, so make sure you have a good time while you're there!" Delia replied. Ash and May both looked at each other with matching bright smiles and nodded in agreement; they would remember to do that. "I've got to go now. Samuel, I mean Professor Oak, asked me to help him with some work at his lab, so I need to get going. It was nice meeting you, May! And don't forget to enjoy your journey there, Ash. And do your best; I'm always cheering for you!" Delia explained showing a bright smile.

"It was nice to meet you too, Mrs Ketchum." May replied, nodding in agreement. "Don't worry, Mum; I will." Ash agreed. With this, Delia hung up and the screen turned off, to which Ash placed the phone back and he and May started to walk over back to where Brock, Misty and Nicholai were. When they arrived back, May turned her head to Ash.

"Your mum's really nice, Ash. I guess you take a lot after her, am I right?" May asked, winking at Ash with a big smile. Ash simply showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; he and Delia were both very similar in personality, and he had a great example to follow. Just then, the group heard the doors of the Pokemon Centre open behind them.

"Nurse Joy!" The group turned around to see that standing there was Officer Jenny with her Growlithe sitting beside her. "Well, look who it is. It's Officer Jenny!" Nurse Joy commented.

"Not you too!" Brock excitedly gushed as he showed a big smile and a blush streaked across his face. He then stopped just in front of Officer Jenny while she stared at him in surprise. "Well, hello there! I see your eyelashes are one tenth of an inch longer than any other Officer Jenny in the region." Brock commented, staring at her with a big smile.

"They are?" Officer Jenny asked in surprise. She then showed a nervous smile as she commented "Well...what do you know? I guess they are."

Ash and the others were in silence for a few moments before May spoke up. "Don't tell me. There's a bunch of Officer Jennies as well, isn't there?" she asked. Misty simply nodded in agreement and showed May another page of the guidebook; it had a photo of about a dozen Officer Jennies all sitting together, all looking exactly alike. "I told you not to tell me, Misty!" May sighed as she looked at the picture.

Brock then turned to look ahead as he pressed one hand pressed underneath his chin. "Well, I can tell the difference and I can tell you how." he commented. However, he was interrupted when Officer Jenny stepped forward as if she didn't notice him to talk to Nurse Joy, which he stared in disbelief for a few seconds to notice before he lowered his head letting out a sigh of dismay at the fact that he had been ignored once again.

"Anyway, Nurse Joy, I need to know if any injured Pokemon have been brought to your Pokemon Centre recently." Officer Jenny explained. "No. Why do you ask?" Nurse Joy replied, slowly shaking her head with an expression of surprise of why Officer Jenny asked. Ash and the others were listening as well, seemingly not noticing that Brock was sitting on the floor again, in the same position as before.

"There have been reports of a Poacher operating in this area." Officer Jenny explained. "A Poacher?!" Ash and the others gasped in unison, and Brock quickly stood up properly upon hearing this. Officer Jenny then held up a small poster that had 'Wanted' on the top in big black letters along with a picture of a man with a sinister grin and he had short dark green hair and seemed to be wearing dark red t-shirt.

"From his methods, I'm guessing that it's this Pokemon Hunter, Rico. He thinks nothing of injuring Pokemon in order to catch them." Officer Jenny explained. Ash then remembered the piece of broken net he and the others found and grabbed it out of his pants pocket to show Officer Jenny.

"We found this on our way here." Ash said. Officer Jenny picked up the piece of net from his hand and had a close look at it. "This is part of a capture net commonly used by poachers. Where did you find it?" she asked, looking down at the group.

"We found it stuck in a tree in the woods on our way here." Misty explained. "You have to show me where!" Officer Jenny replied. Ash nodded in agreement, so the group headed off outside with Officer Jenny following right behind them.

Outside not too far from the Pokemon Centre, the Rocket Trio, having recovered from the blast off they received, were watching the scene from where they were; Jessie and James were looking through their electronic binoculars so they could see what was happening. "Looks like the twerps have stopped at the Pokemon Centre. Good." Jessie commented. "Now it's time to set a trap." James added.

Jessie nodded in agreement as she and James turned their glances to each other. "But what kind?" she asked. "How about our tried and true pitfall trap?" James suggested. Meowth had been listening to this all the while and the second he heard James mention the pitfall, he immediately raised his hand prompting the two to look down at him.

"Hey, no! Can't we be more original?" Meowth snapped. "So, do you have a better idea?" Jessie asked. Meowth then showed a sneaky smile and placed one hand under his chin to think.

"Look, we're working on climbing the corporate ladder, right? So therefore, we've got to start thinking of more creative, inspired things than digging holes." Meowth explained. He turned around with one hand behind his back and the other pointing upwards and he was walking during his explanation while Jessie and James both watched him in silence, but during his explanation, Meowth didn't notice that he was walking towards the edge of the cliff he and the others were at and, before he had a chance to respond to what was going on, he slipped on the ledge and fell, tumbling down the cliff while Jessie and James watched in alarm.

"Meowth!" James called. Meowth rolled down the cliff and soon found himself at the bottom, landing face first on the ground. As Meowth slowly got up, rubbing his face to make sure he wasn't too badly hurt, he looked up when he heard some hissing and noticed that just in front of him, there was a large dark green cloak that seemed to be covering something.

"Hey, that's weird. Something's inside of there." Meowth commented as he slowly walked over to find out what was making that hissing. He pulled the cloak down to reveal a large steel cage containing a bunch of Ekans, and they seemed to have bruises all over their bodies. "Ekans; a cage full of them!" Meowth said, staring in disbelief at the sight. He then slowly walked over to talk to them. "What are you guys doing in there?" Meowth asked. A few of the Ekans hissed to explain what was going on. "What? You're telling me that you were captured by some poaches?" Meowth asked in disbelief. The Ekans nodded in agreement, and Meowth showed a smile and an expression of determination. "Hey, don't worry! I'm gonna get youse out." Meowth said, before reaching forward and touching the bars. However, that soon proved to be a bad idea, as the bars suddenly electrocuted Meowth, sending him stumbling backwards and falling over onto the ground with bruises all over his body. "Man, that hurt." Meowth sighed; maybe that wasn't a good idea.

"Hey, Meowth!" Meowth turned his head to see Jessie and James coming down the cliff on their way to catch up with him, Jessie riding on Arbok and James being lifted by Weezing. "Here we come! Standby!" Jessie called. "Pokemon Express!" James added. Once they arrived down at the bottom, Meowth filled them in on what was going on.

"Oh, I get it." Jessie commented, having her arms crossed. "Those poor Ekans have been blithered by some lowly poachers." James added. The Ekans were all looking out from the cage, while Arbok stared at them with an expression of worry on her face. "And they've been zapped pretty badly by the electricity in that cage." Meowth added.

"Of all the amateurish poaching antics, what kind of idiots would injure their own Pokemon?" Jessie asked. James turned to her, commenting "Sickening!" and then he turned his glance back to the cage. "If that's not bad enough, they leave the cage out here in the open." James added.

Meowth looked up at his comrades having an idea. "We could take these Ekans for ourselves." he suggested. Jessie and James both looked down at them before they immediately showed bright smiles.

"I like your thinking." Jessie commented. "Our first capture here in the Hoenn Region, and without even breaking a sweat!" James happily stated; he didn't think that finding their first Pokemon capture in Hoenn would be so easy, but now their opportunity was lying right in front of them.

With that idea in mind, Jessie turned her glance to Arbok. "So, Arbok, use Acid!" she said. However, to her, James and Meowth's surprise, Arbok was looking at the Ekans in the cage and her eyes had grown larger in size from sadness. "Arbok, what has gotten into you?" Jessie asked, showing an expression of surprise at why Arbok wasn't listening to her. Arbok then closed her eyes as a waterfall of tears feel freely from them.

James then showed an expression of concern. "I think I know." he simply said. Meowth nodded in agreement; he knew that reason behind Arbok's sadness as well.

"Arbok used to be an Ekans before it evolved." Meowth said. "And it doesn't want to be hurt any worse." James added as he, Jessie and Meowth looked back at the Ekans locked in the cage. Jessie stared in silence before she slowly showed a smile and looked back at Arbok.

"Oh, Arbok, we won't harm a scale on your friends' slippery heads, I promise." Jessie softly reassured. James and Meowth both looked at her in surprise, while Arbok lifted her head up hearing Jessie say that, wondering whether or not she meant it. "Cross my heart, on my Team Rocket honour." Jessie promised. Arbok then showed a big smile at this statement, while James and Meowth continued to stare at Jessie in puzzlement.

"Jess, what honour?" James asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "Yeah, what have you got up your sleeve, anyway?" Meowth asked.

"We're sitting on an Ekans gold mine. We'll create the biggest, baddest Ekans army the world has ever seen!" Jessie explained, clenching her fists in victory; she didn't see any way this could backfire for them.

"But they'd have to eat." James reasonably replied. Meowth then got his calculator out and started to punch some equations into it. "Feeding those guys would break the bank." Meowth commented, looking down at the calculator with an expression of worry. Jessie then crossed her arms with a smug smile; she had an idea to counter that.

"You two will just have to cut back on a few meals." Jessie commented. James and Meowth both screamed in alarm while staring at Jessie hearing this and then Wobbuffet suddenly popped out blurting "Wobbuffet!" in agreement with them.

With that taken care of, Jessie turned to the cage deciding to now deal with the matter of breaking it. "Now, Arbok, Acid!" she called. Arbok shot out a blast of purple acid from her mouth hitting the cage, but the acid simply dripped off the bars instead. "It didn't do a thing!" Meowth said as the Rocket Trio stared in surprise.

"So, watch and learn! Weezing, use Sludge Attack now!" James replied. Weezing then started to charge towards the cage. Suddenly, a Fearow dove from the sky almost out of nowhere and struck Weezing while the Rocket Trio stared in disbelief. They then looked to notice a car pulling a large cage behind it and stopped in front of them. The passenger of the car was a large man with short dark green hair and he was wearing a maroon coloured shirt with orange sleeves, light brown gloves, grey pants with a black belt around it and black boots; it was the Pokemon Poacher, Rico.

"All right, you clowns. Who do you think you are missing with my property?" Rico asked. Jessie and James both smiled at each other before standing back to back with their arms crossed, ready to do introductions; this was always their favourite part.

"Well, if you must know, we're part of the unstoppable crime organisation, Team Rocket!" Jessie replied. "We might not look like it, but we're a force not to be messed with." James added. Meowth then stood in front of them while Wobbuffet popped up blurting "Wobbuffet!" However, Rico didn't seem to be too impressed.

"Let's try this again. What are you doing with my Pokemon?" Rico asked; it was obvious he didn't have time for messing around.

"Stealing them, of course." Jessie replied, showing a smug smile. "We're creating the world's largest Ekans army!" James added. However, they heard Weezing sob and turned their heads to see that he had tears building up in his eyes.

"You don't know who you're dealing with..." Rico commented, turning his head to the cage towed behind his truck; inside it were a bunch of Koffing that were all in the same condition as the Ekans. The Rocket Trio gasped in unison seeing this. "He's also got a cage full of Koffing!" Meowth exclaimed.

"I'm Rico; I'm a Pokemon Hunter. Per my client's wishes, I'm poaching as many poison Pokemon as I can." Rico explained. "You're off to a good start, Rico." James simply commented, to which Jessie and Meowth nodded in agreement.

"And here you come waltzing in trying to poach from a poacher? I'll go easy on you jokers, though. Just give me your Arbok and Weezing and I'll let you go in one piece." Rico explained. However, that suggestion didn't sit with Jessie and James at all.

"The nerve!" Jessie gasped. "You want our Pokemon?!" James asked.

"That's what I said. There's a bonus in it for me for every evolved Pokemon I catch." Rico replied. Jessie and James shot nasty glares; they weren't going to stand for that deal.

"Catch them elsewhere! My Arbok and I have been together too long for me to give it to you, buster!" Jessie retorted. "And Weezing and I are like brothers!" James added.

Rico then showed a sinister grin hearing their replies. "Fine, then! I guess I'll have to be taking them." he responded; if they weren't going to be reasonable, then he would have to do this by force if he had to. However, the Rocket Trio weren't going to back down that easily.

"Yeah? Fat chance!" Jessie retorted. "Just try it!" James snapped. "Now it's you not knowing who you're dealing with!" Meowth commented. Arbok and Weezing then stepped in front, ready to takr this guy on.

"Poison Sting, Arbok!" Jessie called. "Weezing, use Sludge!" James added. Arbok shot out a series of small white poisonous barbs from her mouth while Weezing shot out a long stream of black sludge from his mouth; they were both aiming at Rico's Fearow.

"Dodge, and use Fury Attack!" Rico said. Fearow then flew out of the way of both Arbok and Weezing's attacks before pecking the both of them and sending them flying directly slamming into the Rocket Trio. As soon as the dust cleared, the Rocket Trio were left sitting dazed with bruises all over their bodies. "What happened?" Meowth asked, feeling dazed and confused.

"Now, Fearow, Drill Peck!" Rico called. Fearow started to charge towards the Rocket Trio, but luckily Jessie had a counter to that. "Arbok, Wrap attack!" she said. With this, Arbok wrapped her tail around Fearow's beak stopping it from attacking. "And that's a wrap!" Jessie commented, showing a smile of satisfaction.

"Way to go, Jessie!" James happily cheered. However, Rico withdrew Fearow into its Pokeball while the Rocket Trio watched in surprise. "Hey, that's no fair!" Meowth complained.

"Go, Pupitar! Sandstorm!" Rico threw out another Pokeball which released a light blue Pokemon with a body that looked like it was made from armour. It then shot out streams of sand from its body which spun around like a tornado, one of which hit the Rocket Trio and sent them flying into the sky. "Those Pokemon were so weak, it wasn't even worth capturing them." Rico commented, unaware that the Ekans and Koffing had been watching from their cages the whole time.

Back with Ash and the others, they had arrived at the site where they found the piece of net stuck in the tree. "Poaches use nets to immobilize Pokemon before capturing them." Officer Jenny explained. The group were listening to this and they were staring in horror, Ash in particular. The thought of someone treating Pokemon in this manner made his blood boil, and he was feeling ready to give this poacher a lesson he'd never forget.

While this was happening, Misty turned around to notice something. "Guys, look at this!" she called, pointing down to the ground. The others turned their heads to see what Misty found; there were tracks leading down the path. "Hey...those are tire tracks!" Nicholai said.

"The poacher must be travelling by car; the tracks are still fresh." Officer Jenny commented. "They couldn't have gotten very far from here." Brock added.

Ash then grabbed out a Pokeball from his bag that contained Taillow. "We'll search from the sky!" he stated, with Pikachu nodding in agreement; he was feeling ready to find and stop this poaches in his tracks.

Back with the Rocket Trio, they had landed in another area of the woods, and they had leaves all over them from having fallen out of the trees during their landing. Meowth was looking at his tail which had a red bruise on it. "Oh, my aching tail...There's nothing more painful than landing on your tailbone." Meowth groaned. Jessie had an expression of anger on her face; she was not happy with Rico at all.

"I really hate men like that. I'm going to tear him and his overblown ego limb from limb!" Jessie snapped. "If he was a real tough guy, he wouldn't have to hide behind his Pupitar! This calls for a classic Team Rocket sting operation!" James agreed, having now recovered from the toss up they experienced. Wobbuffet then popped up from behind them, agreeing with a trademark "Wobbuffet!"

Just then, the Rocket Trio could hear humming and turned their heads to see a swarm of Beedrill glaring at them; they were none too happy with the Rocket Trio's intrusion. "What's going on? This isn't the kind of sting operation we meant!" Jessie cried as they stared in panic at the trouble they were in. The Beedrill then started to charge towards the Rocket Trio.

"We'll show ourselves out!" The Rocket Trio blurted in unison as they jumped to their feet and made a run for it with their Pokemon following suit as the Beedrill trailed right behind them. From a bush nearby, a small green Pokemon was hopping out from behind the bush; it had two club-like arms, a yellow crown shape on the top of its head and dark green spikes all over its body: it was a Cacnea. Cacnea turned its head to see the Rocket Trio running away from the Beedrill.

"Out of the way, you little pincushion!" Jessie called. "We're about to become one ourselves!" James added. "So scram!" Meowth finished. Noticing the Beedrill behind them, Cacnea lifted its arms, where the spikes on it started to glow white, and shot out several white barbs which hit the Beedrill, prompting them to turn around and fly away. The Rocket Trio then let out a sigh of relief seeing that they were safe.

"That was close." Meowth commented. They then turned their heads to see the Cacnea hopping over to them. "Hey, it's a Cacnea!" Meowth said, showing a big smile upon recognizing the little Pokemon.

"Thanks. You really saved our skins." James gratefully said. "I'd say we head that poacher off now and get the Ekans and Koffing." Jessie suggested. James then showed an expression of concern realising something.

"Head him off where, Jessie? He's probably gone by now." James said. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." Jessie sighed, looking down with an expression of dismay. Just then, Arbok slithered off ahead while the Rocket Trio watched in surprise and lowered down onto the ground. "What's Arbok doing, Meowth?" Jessie asked as the Rocket Trio stared in confusion.

"Arbok can pick up on soundwaves in the earth and tell us where that wily poacher went." Meowth explained. Jessie showed a smile of awe; that was something that could be of great help right now. While they were watching this, Cacnea waddled over to the Rocket Trio without them noticing, and then they turned their heads to see it beside them.

"Oh, we haven't properly thanked you." James said as he reached to grab something from his back pocket. He then grabbed out a packet of cookies and bent down to Cacnea to give them to it. Cacnea then grabbed the packet and looked at it in silence. Just then, Arbok stood upright to face the Rocket Trio.

"Arbok's saying that it just heard a car." Meowth said. "I'll bet it's that Poacher." Jessie commented. With this, the Rocket Trio set off to find where the car was headed, with James waving goodbye to Cacnea and calling "Doodle-loo!" Cacnea simply watched as the Rocket Trio rushed off, holding the packet of cookies in its hands.

With Taillow, he was soaring through the sky searching for any sign of the poacher, and then he looked down to see a car driving down the road with a cage trailing behind it, with various Ekans and Koffing inside it. "(That must be him! I better hurry and tell Ash and the others!)" Taillow commented. With this, he turned around to find where the group were.

With Ash and the others, they were running when they heard Taillow squawk from above and looked up to see him drifting down to them. "Taillow, did you see the poacher yet?" Ash asked. Taillow nodded in agreement before he turned and flew off ahead. "I think Taillow knows where he could be. Let's go, guys!" Ash said, looking at the group. The others nodded in agreement and with that, they started to run off to catch up with Taillow.

Back with Rico, he was driving the car with Fearow sitting in the seat beside him. He then noticed that just up ahead, a long pillar of dirt kicked up on the road in front of him and when it cleared, Arbok suddenly appeared. Rico then slammed the brakes on the car and jumped out seeing Arbok. "You must be that Arbok again. You've saved me some trouble." Rico commented. He then lifted up a net gun to snare Arbok with, but before he had a chance to fire, a large cloud of green smoke suddenly kicked up. Rico turned his head to see what the cause was: it was Weezing leeting out his Smokescreen, with the Rocket Trio standing behind him watching the display.

"Hello." Jessie cheerfully greeted. "Do you remember us?" James asked. The Ekans and Koffing inside the cage all brightly smiled seeing that the Rocket Trio were here to save them.

"You bet. Now, Fearow, blow that Smokescreen away!" Rico replied, turning to Fearow. Fearow then jumped out of the seat it was in, and flapped its wings rapidly and blowing the smoke away...to reveal Meowth working on the lock to the cage while getting electrocuted by the electricity of the cage. However, Meowth didn't seem to be affected by the electricity as he was working on unlocking the cage.

"This electricity is nothing compared to Pikachu's Thunderbolt attacks that I'm used to." Meowth commented. The Ekans and Koffing watched from inside the cage, waiting for Meowth to get them out.

"Fearow, use your Drill Peck on Meowth!" Rico ordered; he wasn't going to let the Rocket Trio get the Ekans and Koffing out so easily. With this, Fearow jumped out of its car seat again, ready to attack Meowth. However, Jessie quickly took notice of this.

"Go, Arbok! Headbutt!" Jessie called. Arbok then charged forward and slammed headfirst into Fearow, sending it flying backwards and slamming into the cage bars, causing it to get electrocuted instead. "How shocking, isn't it?" Jessie cheekily commented, showing a bright smile.

Fearow then collapsed onto the ground, knocked out, while Meowth was still on the lock, pitching at it with one of his claws. After a few seconds, Meowth successfully unlocked the cage and opened the door fully. "All right, you guys, out of the cage, quick!" Meowth said. The Ekans and Koffing quickly scattered out of the cage, while Rico immediately held up the net gun again.

"No, you don't it!" Rico snapped. However, Arbok and Weezing were quick to take action as they both shot out several poison barbs and a stream of purple sludge from their mouths, respectively, hitting Rico and knocking the net gun out of his hands, sending it scraping across the ground.

Jessie let out a victorious laugh seeing their success. "You've poached your last Pokemon, Rico!" James announced. "And now these Ekans and Koffing will be coming with us." Meowth added.

"There he is!" The Rocket Trio turned their heads to see that Ash and the others had arrived on the scene, with Taillow leading them. The group turned their heads in surprise to see the Rocket Trio with the group of Ekans and Koffing. "Team Rocket! What are you guys doing with those Ekans and Koffing?" Ash asked. "You're not trying to take them for yourselves, are you?" Misty asked, showing a glare; the Rocket Trio would be in big trouble if that was the case.

"What?! I'll have you know that we're helping them escape from the poacher!" Jessie retorted. "And we're stopping him from taking our own Pokemon as well." James added. Ash and the others showed matching expressions hearing this; the Rocket Trio were helping Pokemon instead of capturing them for themselves? It sounded very much unlike the Rocket Trio they had come to know. But before they had the chance to ask anything else, Officer Jenny was facing Rico.

"So you're Rico. You're under arrest for Pokemon poaching. Now release the Pokemon you've captured." Officer Jenny stated. However, Rico was starting to become furious by what was happening.

""You've done it now...You've left me no choice! Go, Pupitar!" Rico snapped before throwing out a Pokeball, which opened and released Pupitar. However, just as soon as Pupitar was out of its Pokeball, it started to glow white, much to the shock of the Rocket Trio and Ash and the others.

"That can't be good..." May commented, showing an expression of worry. The group watched as Pupitar changed into a large bipedal Pokemon, showing arms and legs and the colour of its skin changing from shiny blue to light green: it had evolved into Tyranitar. Tyranitar stomped on the ground with one of its feet and let out a loud roar, leaving the large group staring in shock, the Rocket Trio in particular being the most alarmed.

"Pupitar..." Meowth gasped. "Evolved into Tyranitar!" Jessie and James exclaimed in unison, clutching each other's hands from fear. Wobbuffet popped up and blurted "Wobbuffet!" in panic.

Ash, the others and the Rocket Trio all stared in alarm at Tyranitar, who glared down on them. "What sort of Pokemon is that?" May worriedly asked as she grabbed out her Pokedex to find out about this Pokemon. "Tyranitar, the Armour Pokemon. Tyranitar has a heavily armoured body that can withstand powerful attacks and is able to crush a mountain with one hand." The Pokedex explained. May simply stared at the entry in shock; if it was anything to go by, then Tyranitar sounded like it was pretty strong, as well as hard to take down.

"Wow, that's a big one!" Meowth gasped. "Big deal!" Jessie replied. "Now, Weezing, Smokescreen!" James called. Weezing released a large cloud of dark green smoke from his mouth, covering the area and making things hard to see for everyone, including Rico and Tyranitar.

"That showed him." Jessie happily commented. "Now run for it!" Meowth said, turning to the Ekans and Koffing while saying that. With this, the group of Pokemon turned to start making a run for it.

"Oh no, you don't! Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!" Rico called. Tyranitar charged up a strong blast of orange energy in its mouth for a few seconds before firing it. Ash and the others barely had enough time to run out of the way, while the energy blast struck the ground in front of the Rocket Trio, leaving a drop down to the ground below to the woods. "Glad you decided to stay. I'll be taking back my Ekans and Koffing along with all your Pokemon." Rico commented. Arbok and Weezing both glared at him, and Jessie was about to reply when they saw Ash and the others step forward.

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Ash replied. "We'll stop you before you have the chance to capture any more Pokemon like you've done with those Ekans and Koffing." Misty agreed as they stared fearlessly at Rico with expressions of determination; they would be ready to take on Tyranitar if they had to. Before that could happen, Ash turned to the Rocket Trio who were watching in surprise.

"You guys help the Ekans and Koffing escape. We'll take care of Rico." Ash said. The Rocket Trio all looked at each other and silence passed for a few seconds before they all nodded; if they were going to take on Rico, it had to be alongside Ash and the others.

"Not until we help you deal with him." Jessie replied. "We're the ones who get involved in his business in the first place, and if bringing him down means having to help you, then we'll do just that." James explained. Ash stared in silence with an expression of surprise hearing this, but then he slowly showed a smile and nodded in understanding. With that taken care of, the large group all turned to face Rico; it was them against him, and there would be no backing down.

"You guys ready?" Ash asked. "Yeah!" The others replied in unison, nodding. "All right, then let's go!" Ash stated; everyone was going to pitch in with this battle. The first person to send out a Pokemon was none other than Ash. "Larvitar, I choose you!" Ash called, throwing out a Pokeball which opened and released Larvitar, who had a big smile and feeling ready to battle.

"Azurill, let's go!" May called, being the next person to throw out one of her Pokeballs, which opened and sent out Azurill.

"Come on out, Starmie!" Misty called, grabbing out of her Pokeballs and throwing it, which opened and released Starmie.

"You ready, Mudkip?" Nicholai asked, turning to Mudkip sitting on his shoulder. Mudkip nodded in agreement and jumped down to the ground while Nicholai changed into his Mudkip costume.

"Forretress, help us out!" Brock said, throwing the one Pokeball he had, which opened and sent Forretress out, who landed on the ground alongside the other Pokemon; they were all assembled and ready to battle against Rico's Tyranitar. As the battle was ready to start, Ash was the first to kick things off.

"Larvitar, use Dig!" Ash called. Larvitar jumped up and burrowed his way into the ground while the other Pokemon charged forward ready to begin.

"All right, Azurill, use Water Gun!" May said, pointing towards Tyranitar. "You too, Starmie!" Misty added. "Help them out too, Mudkip!" Nicholai finished. May turned to the two in surprise before she showed a bright smile; she was glad that they were helping her out.

The three Pokemon in question all shot out blasts of water from their mouths, which combined into one large blast which hit Tyranitar directly. Tyranitar was knocked back a few steps before recovering as the water cleared up. "I'll show you! Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!" Rico snapped. Tyranitar started to charge up another blast of energy in its mouth, but before it had the chance to fire it, it looked down to hear something rumbling underneath its feet. "Who's that now?" Rico asked. After a few seconds, Larvitar popped up from underneath the ground, hitting Tyranitar from beneath and causing it to topple over and land on the ground on its back.

"All right, Larvitar! Great job!" Ash cheered, a big smile crossing on his face. "(Yeah, great job!)" Pikachu agreed, jumping up in the air with a matching smile.

Larvitar turned to Ash with a bright smile hearing this, but before he had a chance to respond, Tyranitar slowly got up and slammed against Larvitar with one of its arms, sending the little Pokemon flying and slamming against the ground not too far from the group. "Larvitar!" Ash gasped as he turned to see this. May quickly took action and started to run over to where Larvitar was, and Rico turned his head to notice her running.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere. Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!" Rico said, showing a sinister grin as he pointed to where May was. Tyranitar charged up a blast of orange energy in its mouth before suddenly firing it. May stopped and turned her head to see the blast coming her way, and let out a scream of alarm seeing what was coming towards her. Having heard her scream, Ash turned to see what was wrong and gasped in horror when he saw that the Hyper Beam was shooting straight towards May!

"May, look out!" Ash cried before he immediately started to run over, which Brock and Misty turned their heads to notice. "Ash, no!" The two called in unison, but Ash didn't pay them any notice; he had to save May before she was hit.

With May, she was staring at the orange blast coming towards her in alarm, and then she immediately closed her eyes tight and looked away, awaiting the impact. However, she suddenly felt herself being pushed out of the way as the blast then went her striking the ground instead. May then slowly opened her eyes to find that she was safe and she turned her head to that it was Ash, holding her as he had pushed her out of the way of the energy blast. "Are you all right, May?" Ash asked, looking at her with an expression of worry.

May stared in stunned silence before a smile slowly crossed her face and she simply nodded once. "Yeah, I am. Thanks, Ash." May softly replied. Ash showed a smile of relief at this reply and the two stood up since they had both landed on the ground. May looked down as a blush appeared on her cheeks and then she leaned forward and softly kissed Ash on the cheek before he had a chance to say anything else. "Thank you for saving me." May softly said before she turned and headed over to get Larvitar.

Ash simply stood at a loss of words upon realising what May just did: she had kissed him on the cheek. True, he had received that twice before, but this instance felt different and he was unable to figure out that why that was. He then figured that maybe he should think about this later and turned to see May running over with Larvitar. "Is Larvitar okay?" he asked showing an expression of concern.

"Yeah, Larvitar's fine." May replied. She then started to run back to where the battle was happening, while Ash simply watched her in silence, pressing the area of his cheek where May had kissed him. After a few seconds, he started to follow after May, deciding to focus on the battle now before thinking about what just happened.

Back at the battle scene, the others were focused on taking on Tyranitar. "Forretress, use Rapid Spin!" Brock called. Forretress closed its cannons into its shell and started to spin rapidly like a top aiming for Tyranitar, but Tyranitar simply smacked Forretress, sending him flying back towards Brock to which he quickly ran out of the way. The Rocket Trio were watching this all the while, wondering how they were supposed to help. Jessie looked down to think for a few seconds before a bright smile crossed her face; she had an idea.

"I think I know how to deal with him. A simple Hyper Beam or two should teach him a lesson quick. Right, Wobbuffet?" Jessie asked, turning to Wobbuffet with a confident smile. James and Meowth both showed a big smile hearing this as they understood what Jessie was saying.

"Better yet, Wobbuffet could use a Counter!" Meowth commented. With this, the Rocket Trio stepped forward while Ash and the others watched in surprise. "Stand back, everyone, and let Wobbuffet do all the work." Jessie explained. She then watched as Wobbuffer hopped forward, ready to counter what Tyranitar had to throw at him.

"Hyper Beam, Tyranitar!" Rico called. Tyranitar shot out a strong blast of energy from its mouth towards Wobbuffet. Wobbuffet hopped forward ready to counter, but the Hyper Beam hit him directly and knocked him out, much to the Rocket Trio's alarm.

"Wobbuffet!" Jessie gasped. "Looks like its counterattack failed." James commented. "That Hyper Beam came so fast, it didn't even have time to do one!" Meowth exclaimed. The group then looked up to see that Tyranitar was charging up another blast of energy and then fired it, aiming straight towards them. Before the group had a chance to respond, there was a loud explosion, kicking up a large puff of black smoke that could be seen in the vicinity area.

As the smoke cleared, the aftermath of the explosion came into view: there were trees torn down from the bottom, holes could seen and Ash, his friends and the Rocket Trio were lying on the ground, battered and bruised. As Ash slowly sat up, dusting himself off, he turned his head to look at the others. "Is everyone okay?" he asked. "(Yeah, I'm all right.)" Pikachu replied, sitting up beside Ash. The two then watched as everyone slowly sat up in the same state as Ash.

"Yeah..." May replied, rubbing her head to make sure it was still intact. "I'm okay. What about you, Togepi?" Misty asked, looking down at her little Pokemon with an expression of concern. Togepi showed a smile and nodded before jumping into Misty's arms. "Yeah, I'm fine too." Brock added. They, along with the Rocket Trio, to see Rico with Tyranitar standing behind with a grin on his face.

"You fools! This wouldn't have happened if you had just handed over your Pokemon nicely. But now it's too late for that, so I'm just going to take those Pokemon and destroy you." Rico said, addressing the Rocket Trio as they all glared at him.

"No! We won't let you do that!" Rico turned his head to see that it was Ash who said that as he slowly got up. "We'll stop you and your Tyranitar no matter what!" Ash retorted as he showed an expression of determination. May looked up at Ash with an expression of worry, uncertain of whether or not this was a good idea.

"But, Ash...his Tyranitar's practically unstoppable. Did you see the way it shot off Hyper Beams like it was nothing? I think that...maybe we should give up." May quietly explained, looking down while she stated the last part, as hard as it was for her to say that.

"We can't give up, May! If we do, Rico will keep poaching more Pokemon. And we can't let him do that!" Ash retorted. He then turned his glance to see Brock and Misty both staring up at him in alarm.

"Ash, this is crazy! We're putting our Pokemon in danger because of that Tyranitar!" Misty snapped. "Misty's right. What if something happened to our Pokemon?" Brock asked. Ash showed an expression of alarm upon hearing that question; that was something he didn't take into consideration during all of this. He then slowly looked down at the ground showing an expression of dismay.

"That's right... I didn't think about that..." Ash softly replied while Pikachu looked at him with an expression of concern. "(Ash?)" Pikachu softly asked looking at his friend in worry. After a few seconds, Ash turned his glance to Pikachu noticing his concern.

"I'm sorry, Pikachu. I'm putting you and everyone else in danger just to stop that poacher, and I didn't think about what would happen if something happened to any of you. If you did get hurt during all of this, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for endangering your lives in the first place..." Ash sadly explained.

While this was happening, the Rocket Trio turned their heads to look at Arbok and Weezing along the Ekans and Koffing; if they didn't do something, they would all be abducted. The Rocket Trio all looked at each other and, after a few seconds of silence, nodded; this wouldn't be an easy desicion, but it was the best option they had at the moment. They both stood up and turned to face Arbok and Weezing. "Now, Arbok, take your friends and get far away from here." Jessie stated. "You too, Weezing." James added. Arbok and Weezing both stared in alarm upon hearing this.

"We know you're strong, but you're no match for Tyranitar." Jessie explained. Arbok and Weezing both shook their heads rapidly; there was no way they were going to leave their Trainers behind at the hands of Rico and his Tyranitar.

"Listen: you're better safe than sorry. The truth is we just care too much to allow you to be captured by someone like him." James explained as he and Jessie showed a bright smile. "Besides, all of those Ekans and Koffing need you to help them right now." Jessie added. Arbok and Weezing both looked at the Ekans and Koffing, realising that they were right and looked back at Jessie and James.

"Now go!" Jessie ordered. "We're able to take care of ourselves." James added. "So you guys get out of here and don't look back!" Meowth stated.

Arbok and Weezing both looked at each other in silence before shaking their heads. "(No... we're not leaving you!)" The two cried in unison.

"Why stretch this out?!" Jessie cried. "Just go...now." James simply said; this hurt them just as much as it hurt their Pokemon, but they knew it did to be done. It was the only option they had to keep their Pokemon safe from Rico. Arbok and Weezing both looked at them sadly before looking at each other and, with expressions of determinarion, turned and started to head off leading the Ekans and Koffing away from the scene.

During this, May had been watching all the while and she was staring in surprise. "To think I thought of them as nothing but criminals who simply stole other peoples' Pokemon, but they care about their Pokemon as much as we do. In fact, they love them just like we do. And I've been looking at them in a negative light. I've been misjudging them horribly..." May silently commented as she could feel tears slowly building up in her eyes. She then closed her eyes as she brushed her tears away, and then an expression of determination showed on her face as she nodded. With this, she then stood up and walked over to face Rico and Tyranitar as the others watched in surprise. "Come on, guys...we have to stop him." May simply stated.

The others gasped in alarm upon hearing this. "But, May...didn't you say that Tyranitar was unstoppable?" Misty asked. May nodded in agreement as she then closed her eyes.

"Yeah, that's true. But we still have to try. We have to stop Rico from capturing any more Pokemon for his own personal gain. This isn't just for the Ekans and Koffing anymore...this is also for Arbok and Weezing!" May explained, as she opened her eyes with determination burning in them. The others gasped in alarm, and the Rocket Trio turned their heads in surprise hearing May say this.

"Did you guys hear her say that?!" Jessie asked. "She said that this was for our Pokemon too..." James commented. The Rocket Trio all turned to each other and nodded; if it meant putting their own lives in danger, they had to help too.

As May stared at Rico fearlessly, she turned to face the others. "So...are you guys with me?" she simply asked. There was silence as the others simply stared at May, trying to figure out whether or not she was being serious about this. After a few seconds, the group looked down as Azurill hopped forward. "(I'm in, Miss May.)" Azurill simply said.

Mudkip then waddled over. "(I'm in too.)" he said. "(So am I.)" Larvitar agreed, trodding over to stand alongside the others. Starmie and Forretress then hopped over; they were in as well. May showed a bright smile seeing that all the Pokemon were in and looked up at the others, waiting for their answer.

Ash, Brock, Misty and Nicholai all looked at each other in silence to think about their decision and after a few seconds, Nicholai finally spoke up. "If our Pokemon are in...then so are we, May!" he said. The other three stared at him in disbelief before they all looked at each other and nodded in agreement; they weren't backing down either.

"Count us in too." The group turned their heads to see the Rocket Trio walking over. "In fact, let us handle it." Meowth said. He then lugned forward, with his claws extending and glowing white, and scratched the top of Tyranitar's head. "And that's the end of that tune." Meowth commented with a smug smile. However, Tyranitar recovered quickly, to Meowth's horror, and fired another blast of orange energy.

As the ground shook violently, Arbok and Weezing turned their heads to see what was happening. "Don't look back!" James called. "Keep going!" Jessie added. Tyranitar then charged forward as the Rocket Trio lunged forward as well.

"It's time for more Fury Swipes!" Meowth said. "Try my Fury Swipes!" Jessie added. "And try mine as well!" James finished. Arbok and Weezing watched in silence as Tyranitar struck the Rocket Trio with its claws as well as its Hyper Beam, but they kept coming back for more, and Ash and the others watched in alarm as well. Arbok and Weezing could feel tears stream down from their eyes as they led the Ekans and Koffing away; their Trainers, the ones who had loved and cared for them since they were Ekans and Koffing themselves, were putting their lives on the lines to ensure they escaped safely. And so, as hard it was for them, Arbok and Weezing escaped into the woods with Ekans and Koffing in tow. As the dust cleared from the long, arduous battle, the Rocket Trio lay on the ground unconscious as Rico returned Tyranitar into its Pokeball.

"Those three are more trouble than they're worth. At least those Pokemon are mine now." Rico commented, as he held the net gun in his hands. He then started to walk off, but was stopped when he saw Ash and the others standing in front of him. "Get out of the way! Unless you want me to send Tyranitar out again." Rico ordered.

"Not a chance! You've gone too far now, Rico! Capturing Pokemon for your own needs is one thing, but intentionally putting other peoples' lives in danger is where I draw the line! We'll put you in your place for good!" Misty snapped, with an expression of anger; she was really losing her temper.

"Very well, then. I suppose I'll take you down and then go after those Pokemon. Fearow, use Drill Peck!" Rico replied. Fearow then jumped out of its car seat, having recovered from the electricity of the cage, and flew over ready to battle some more.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and released a strong bolt of electricity which hit Fearow and caused it to drop out of the sky, knocked out.

"No, Fearow! Then I'll have to use Tyranitar!" Rico snapped. However, Officer Jenny was quick to take action. "Growlithe, seize all of his Pokeballs!" she called. With this, Growlithe charged forward and snatched the Pokeball with Tyranitar in it in its mouth. "Now, release all of the Pokemon you've captured, Rico." Officer Jenny said.

"You're a little late, Officer. They all escaped thanks to these clowns." Rico replied, turning his head to the Rocket Trio lying on the ground unconscious. Ash and the others showed expressions of surprise hearing this. "You mean Team Rocket helped those Pokemon escape?" Nicholai asked.

May showed a bright smile hearing this and then she walked over to the Rocket Trio and bent down to look at them, to which they slowly lifted their heads to see her smiling at them. "Hey, guys. I saw you telling Arbok and Weezing to flee with these Ekans and Koffing. That was really amazing of you to do that!" May happily commented.

"Yeah...so?" Jessie asked. "What...does it matter...to you?" James asked, as he and the others were struggling to move after that long battle.

"Well, I was thinking after seeing that. I have a feeling that you guys aren't bad people, you've just made a bad desicion with your lives. You decided to do something that isn't helping you at all. Have you ever considered that there might be more to life for you outside of Team Rocket?" May asked. The Rocket Trio all looked at each other in surprise before turned their glances back to May.

"But...being part of Team Rocket is all we've ever known." Jessie replied. "And even if we were to leave, how would we ever be able to turn ourselves around?" James asked. "Yeah, that sounds like something impossible to me." Meowth commented.

"I wouldn't say so." May replied, to which the Rocket Trio showed expressions of surprise. "I think you guys can actually be really good people if you decide to do something about where you are. It's never too late to change." May simply explained. She then stood up and looked down at the trio as she added "It's just something to think about, though." She then turned and started to run after the others as they were leading Rico away. When she caught up to them, Ash turned to her with an expression of puzzlement.

"What did you say to them, May?" Ash asked. "I just gave them something to think about; maybe it might help them to change their reputation for the better." May replied. Ash stared at her in surprise before simply shaking his head; knowing the Rocket Trio, the chances of that happening would be highly unlikely.

That evening, the Rocket Trio were slowly walking down the path, still visibly exhausted from the long battle with Rico. Jessie and James both stopped and turned their heads to look at the evening sky. "Do you really think Arbok and Weezing will be all right, Jessie?" James asked. "I hope so..." Jessie quietly replied.

"Don't worry, guys." The two looked down to see Meowth saying that. "They're as tough as nails from all that battling with Pikachu, right? I know they'll be just fine." Meowth explained. Jessie and James both smiled upon hearing that.

"I suppose you're right." Jessie replied. Just then, they looked down to see Cacnea hopping over to them with the packet of biscuits in its hands.

"Look who it is!" Jessie commented. "It's that same Cacnea." Meowth noticed. James bent down to see the little Pokemon.

"Have you been following after us all this time?" James asked. Cacnea then showed the packet of biscuits; it wanted to return them to James. "It's okay; I gave this to you." James commented. He took the packet from Cacnea and opened it up, before grabbing a biscuit out and giving it to Cacnea. "You should go ahead and eat it." James said. Cacnea grabbed the biscuit and munched on it, to which it showed a big smile.

"Look!" Jessie happily commented. "That Cacnea is kind of cute." Meowth said.

"Cacnea, if you'd like, you can come along and travel with us, what do you say?" James asked. Cacnea happily nodded at this and jumped into James's arms. "We got a Cacnea!" James happily commented. Unfortunately, the spikes on Cacnea's arms were poking into James's neck, prompting James to let out a loud scream.

Meanwhile with Ash and the others, nightfall had come and they were turning in for the night, with Nicholai having set off on his own after the battle with Rico. "Man, what a long day this was. We not only met Nicholai and watched him catch a Zigzagoon, but we also got to help Officer Jenny arrest a criminal! I'd call that a full day." May happily commented, as the group made themselves comfortable in their tents.

"Same here, May. I'm so exhausted, I think I'm going to drop right to sleep. But don't wake me up early the next morning!" Misty replied, showing a glare at that warning. May simply smiled and nodded; she would keep that in mind. She and Ash were sharing one tent, and Brock and Misty had the other tent.

"Guys, I'm ready to turn in for now. Goodnight." Brock said. "Night-night, Brock!" The others replied. And with that, the group went to sleep.

That was, except for Ash. He was thinking about what had happened between him and May during the battle against Rico. _'I still can't believe that May kissed me! Sure, it was on the cheek, but this felt different from the other times it happened. Why's that?' _Ash asked to himself. He turned his glance to May sound asleep beside him; he was starting to wonder if she saw him as more than just a friend, but more importantly...he was wondering if he viewed her the same way.


	9. The Lost Aura Pokemon

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 9: The Lost Aura Pokemon**

In the dark of night, all was still in Petalburg Woods. The stars were shining brightly in the night sky and the crescent moon was fully in view, and the only sound that could be heard was the silent wind blowing through the trees and the rustling of grass as a few Pokemon were walking through it. However, the peaceful silence was quickly broken as the figure of a small Pokemon was rushing through the grass. The small Pokemon rushed rapidly through the grass until it spotted a tree just ahead and jumped up towards it, landing on the closest branch and sat down to rest on it. Underneath the shadows of the tree's leaves, no specific details could be seen about the Pokemon except for its bright red eyes and its body shape, which was a small bipedal with long drooping ears on both sides of its head and a long tail. The Pokemon looked down at the ground while struggling to catch its breath and then looked back up.

"(I should be safe up here. I can't let them find me. Actually, no, I won't let them find me! I'm not going to back to being their experiment!)" The Pokemon silently said to itself. It then looked up to see the crescent moon shining in the night sky and let out a soft sigh; it thought it would be safe here in these woods, but that didn't seem to be the case as its captors were still after it.

"(Why did I think that this was a good idea? I thought that by coming here, I'd be able to get away from them. But it seems that they've followed me here as well.)" The Pokemon commented to itself. It then looked down at its right arm which seemed to have a large cut across it, and it also looked like it was nearly fully torn open. "(I'm just lucky I haven't made this arm feel any worse.)" it added.

Suddenly, a bush down below started to shake, to which the Pokemon looked down with an expression of alarm. "(That must be them again! I better get a move on.)" The Pokemon commented. It then stood up and started to jump on the tree branches to get away.

Down in the bushes, a Zigzagoon poked its head up to spot the Pokemon hopping away on the tree branches before it turned away to leave, having lost interest in the Pokemon it just spotted. But as the Zigzagoon was walking away, it could hear footsteps coming its direction and quickly rushed off to hide behind a bush nearby. It then poked its head out to see two men dressed in fully grey clothes along with dark grey vests walk past; one had short dark brown hair and the other had short dark blue hair. The two scanned the area around them before turning to each other. "Have you seen any sign of it?" The first of the two, the blue-haired person, asked.

"No. It's as if it doesn't want to be found." The other person replied. The two then turned their heads to look at the direction the Pokemon had run off in. "But that Pokemon can't run away from us forever." The person added; he and his partner were going to find it if it meant searching the entirety of these woods to do so.

The next morning, Ash poked his head out from his tent as he got out and looked up to see the clear blue sky. He then turned his head to see Pikachu coming outside and showed a bright smile. "Morning, Pikachu. How did you sleep last night?" he asked. Pikachu shook his head rapidly before looking up at Ash with a big smile. "(Morning, Ash. I was out like a light last night. After the long day we had yesterday, I needed a long sleep.)" Pikachu replied. He then jumped up onto Ash's shoulder as they noticed that no one else seemed to be out of their tent yet.

"I guess we're the only one awake, huh?" Ash commented. Pikachu nodded in agreement as he looked around; that seemed to be the case. Just then, Ash heard a voice from just beside him and turned his head to spot the source: it was May. She was sitting on the grass behind the tent she and Ash were sharing, with a small hand mirror beside her and a pink hairbrush in her hand, and she was brushing her hair while softly humming to herself. Ash showed a bright smile seeing this and then he started to walk over to where she was.

With May, she was running her hairbrush down one section of her hair, cheerfully humming to herself while doing so. After a few seconds, she picked up her hand mirror and looked at her reflection, running her fingers through her hair. "Look at you. Isn't this an image to behold in an early morning? A few more strokes and I'll be looking fresh and ready to go for the day!" May happily commented to herself. However, she was met with a surprise when she saw Ash's reflection beside hers and she turned her head and nearly jumped from surprise when she noticed that sure enough, Ash was standing behind her. "Ash! How long have you been there?" May asked, staring with an expression of alarm while he showed a big smile.

"I've only been here about a few seconds. I didn't notice that you left the tent, so I thought you were still asleep. But I happen to find you out here instead. Morning, by the way." Ash replied. May's expression of surprise was soon replaced with a bright smile, before she looked back down at her reflection to find that the other section of her hair was completely out of place; there were hairs poking out all over the place and it seemed to be split in half as well. Ash showed an expression of surprise seeing this as well. "May, what happened to your hair?" he asked, turning his glance to her.

"I'm not sure. I guess I was tossing back and forth in my sleep so much that I might have accidently messed it up. How am I going to fix it?" May asked, looking at it with an expression of dismay. Ash looked down to think for a few moments, before he noticed the hair brush beside May and picked it up off the grass, and then he started to gently brush the messed up hair, which May turned her head in surprise to notice. "Ash, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm helping you fix it. Wouldn't you rather seeing both sections look the same? I know I would." Ash replied. May showed a bright smile at this reply and nodded in agreement, before she turned her glance back to her reflection in the mirror and her smile grew larger upon realising that Ash was brushing her hair. _'I don't believe this. First I got enough courage to kiss him, and now this is happening! Maybe I won't need to say it after all; he's figuring it out on his own.' _May thought to herself; she couldn't believe what she was actually seeing.

Ash turned his glance to see May with a big smile on her own, and he couldn't help himself smiling back. He then looked down to notice how soft May's hair felt in his fingers; he really liked it. After a few more seconds of brushing, the other segment of May's hair was just as straight as the first one. "There we go, May. Good as new." Ash commented. May had a look in her mirror to see that sure enough, her hair looked just as straight as it should be.

"Wow, that's much better. Thanks, Ash." May said, looking up at him with a smile. She then bent down to pick up her bandana, but noticed that it wasn't there, to which she showed an expression of surprise. "Have you seen my bandana, Ash? I'm pretty sure I remember placing in here after I took it off." May commented. Ash had a look around in the area behind them, and then he noticed a red cloth with a white Pokeball symbol lying on the grass; it was May's bandana, so he bent down and picked it up.

"Here it is." Ash replied, showing it to May. He then bent down behind May and wrapped it around the top of her head, covering the top of her hair, before wrapping the ends together and tying it up tightly. "There we are. How does it look?" he asked. May had a look at her reflection in her mirror and showed a big smile; her bandana looked just the way she always tied it up in.

"It looks perfect. Thanks for all your help." May replied, as she and Ash turned their glances to each other and showed matching bright smiles. They then turned their heads hearing something behind them and noticed that Brock and Misty were poking their heads out from their tent. "Good morning, guys! Did you both have a nice sleep?" May asked.

"Yeah, I sure did! Thanks for remembering to not wake me up early; I get in a bit of a bad mood if I don't get a goodnight's sleep." Misty replied. May showed a smile of amusement before giggling to herself. "That sounds just like my brother. He always gets upset at me if I wake him up early." May replied. Misty showed a smile of amusement hearing this; it seemed she shared something in common with May's brother even though she hadn't met him yet.

"What do you guys say we start getting everything ready to get going?" Brock suggested. The others turned their glances to him and nodded in agreement; that sounded like a good idea. They were now continuing their trek towards Rustboro City and were all working together to get ready to go; they had just finished putting their sleeping bags away, Ash and Misty were working together to put the tents away, Brock was searching through his bag to get things ready for breakfast and May was looking around at the site.

"Is there something I can do, guys?" May asked. Brock turned to May and showed a smile as he had an idea. "Actually, yeah, there is. Could you go refill our bottles?" Brock asked, opening his bag to show May two empty round bottles. May showed a bright smile and quickly nodded before grabbing the bottles, one in each hand.

"I'm on it, Brock! I'll be right back, guys." May happily replied. With this, she turned and started to walk off to find a river stream, but as she was walking she didn't notice that there was something lying on the grass in front of her. Not noticing, May stepped on the object with one foot and, with an expression of surprise, tripped and fell over onto the grass, losing her grip on the bottles and dropping them on the grass in front of her. She then slowly lifted her head as she started to rub it. "Ow...that hurt." May groaned as she sat up and shook her head off.

Ash, Brock and Misty all turned their heads in surprise hearing May from nearby and then Ash ran over to see her sitting on the grass with the bottles in front of her. "May, are you alright?" he asked, bending down to check on her with an expression of concern. Pikachu then jumped off his shoulder and ran over to May. "(You're not hurt, are you?)" he asked. May lifted her head up to see the two and shook it, showing a bright smile.

"No, I'm okay. But...I think I tripped on something." May replied. Pikachu turned his head to see if he could find what it was and then he showed an expression of surprise spotting something. "(Guys, look at that!)" Pikachu called, pointing forward.

The group rushed over to find that lying on the grass in front of May was a small wooden figure with a long piece of string tied together at both ends through a hole at the top of the head. "What's this?" May asked, as she picked it up to have a look at it. She then noticed the string and showed it to the others. "It looks like some sort of necklace." May commented, as the others gathered around to have a look for themselves.

"Yeah, I think so too." Ash agreed. He then pointed down at the little statue as he added "But have a look at that little figure." As the group stared at the figure, they could see that it was a small bipedal figure with long ears, a tail at the back, small pad shapes on its arms and a collar around its neck. "What do you guys think that is?" Ash asked.

"Do you think that could be a Pokemon?" Misty suggested. "Maybe, but it doesn't look any kind of Pokemon I've seen before." Brock replied. Ash showed an expression of awe; that little statue could actually be of a Pokemon he had never seen before. While the group were staring at the little figure, a small Pokemon poked its head out from behind a bush; the details of the Pokemon could be seen more clearly thanks to the sunlight. Its body was dark blue, with its legs, torso and tail being black, it had bright red eyes with a black mask shape around them and white pad-shaped bumps on its head. As the little Pokemon watched to see what was happening, it let out a gasp when it saw May holding the little necklace in her hand.

"(That girl has my carving! It's really important to me; I won't let any harm come to it!)" The Pokemon snapped to itself. With this, it leapt out of the bushes and, as if in a blue blur, flew past the group grabbing the little figure out of May's hands to which the group stared in surprise to notice.

"Where did it go?" May asked. The group looked around for a few seconds before they noticed the small Pokemon running off with the figure in its paws. "There it goes! Let's go, guys! We've got to catch that Pokemon!" May called, pointing forward in the direction the Pokemon was running off in, turning to the others while she was talking before she started to run after the Pokemon, to which the others stared in silence for a few seconds before they rushed after her.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, the Rocket Trio had made themselves comfortable there to rest for the night after the long battle against the Poacher they experienced yesterday. James was now up while Meowth was lying against a tree, relaxing with his arms behind his back. "Morning, Meowth. Had a nice rest after that long day?" James asked, turning his head to see Meowth relaxing.

"Yeah; I needed it after all that madness from yesterday." Meowth replied, looking up to see James walking over to him. James then grabbed out one of his Pokeballs and opened it to release Cacnea, who then stretched his arms in the air while letting out a yawn. James showed a bright smile seeing that Cacnea was awake and bent down to his height while the little Pokemon was looking around at his surroundings, before turning around to see James behind him.

"Good morning, Cacnea. I see that you're refreshed and ready to go for today?" James asked. Cacnea showed a big smile and nodded before he jumped forward to hug James, with his spikes accidently poking him in the process. James had to refrain from screaming in pain as he pulled Cacnea off of him. "Yes, I can tell you're happy. I just don't need a hug right now." James commented. Just then, an expression of surprise showed on his face and he looked around to find that there was one person unaccounted for. "Meowth, have you seen where Jessie went?" James asked, looking down at their little partner.

Meowth sat up and nodded before pointing to the left. "She went that way; she said that she was going to do some contemplating before she joined up with us." Meowth explained. James turned his head to look in the direction Meowth was pointing in and an expression of concern crossed his face; he was starting to wonder what Jessie was thinking about to have made her get up earlier than him and Meowth and leave them waiting for her.

After a few seconds to think, James turned his glance to Meowth. "Meowth, could you keep an eye on Cacnea? I'm going to see if I can find Jessie." James said. Meowth quickly stood up and nodded with a big smile. "Sure thing, Jimmy!" he happily replied. James showed a grateful smile at this reply before he turned and started to walk off in the direction Jessie headed in. As Cacnea watched James head off to find Jessie, he turned to Meowth with an expression of puzzlement, like he was wondering whether or not everything was okay.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. They'll be fine. I'll let you in on something, though." Meowth said. A smile of interest crossing his face, Cacnea hopped over so he could listen to Meowth more closely. Seeing that he had Cacnea's attention, Meowth showed a big smile before he continued. "Those two have been looking out for each other since day one, and they're as close as a pair can be. No matter what happens to us, they never consider the possibility of leaving each other's side; that's how important they consider one another to be." Meowth explained. Cacnea was paying close attention during this explanation and then he showed a bright smile.

"(So...does that mean they're together?)" Cacnea simply asked. Meowth immediately nodded in response to this question. "You bet they are. While they usually don't say it, they still show how much they really care about each other. Believe me, as someone who's stuck by them from the get-go, I know them very well." Meowth replied. Cacnea started to happily jump up and down, thrilled to hear this while Meowth showed a big grin seeing Cacnea this happy.

Back with Ash and the others, they were chasing the Pokemon down as it was running away with the necklace they found, jumping on the tree branches above them. "What kind of Pokemon is that, anyway?" May asked as they were running. Ash grabbed out his Pokedex from his bag and opened it up, deciding to have a look for himself to find out. However, the screen on the Pokedex showed only a black screen with a white question mark.

"There is no data currently recorded of this Pokemon." The Pokedex commented. Ash stared at the blank screen in surprise; if there was no data on the Pokedex, that meant this had to be a rare Pokemon, one that had never been seen before. He then looked up at the Pokemon as it kept jumping on the tree branches before it stopped and turned to face the group, who then stopped in turn to look up at it.

"What do you think it's doing? Why is it glaring at us?" May asked, showing an expression of concern. Her question was answered in no less than a few seconds as the Pokemon held its paws close together and started to charge up a blue ball of energy in them, while the group watched in surprise, before firing it directly at them. The group quickly rushed out of the way as the ball of energy struck the ground where they were once standing, leaving a small hole in the ground behind. Ash turned his head to see this before looking up at the Pokemon with an expression of determination.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice. We'll have to battle that Pokemon! You ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking over at his partner Pokemon. Pikachu nodded in agreement before jumping off Ash's shoulder onto the ground glaring at the unknown Pokemon.

"I'll help out too, Ash! Let's go, Torchic!" May said, grabbing out one of her Pokeballs and throwing it, which caused it to open and release Torchic, who landed on the ground with an expression of determination as she stood alongside Pikachu and the two were looking up at the Pokemon standing on the tree branch staring down at them.

"All right, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. "And Torchic, use Ember!" May added. With this, Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity while Torchic shot out small blasts of fire from her beak, both attacks aiming at the Pokemon. However, the Pokemon jumped out of the way leaving both attacks to strike the tree branch and break it off, sending it dropping down to the ground. Pikachu and Torchic both looked around in surprise, wondering where the Pokemon went, before they saw it jump from behind the fallen tree branch and charge towards them, to which the two quickly rushed out of the way, leaving the Pokemon to turn around upon realising that it was facing the wrong way.

"Torchic, use Peck!" May said, pointing towards the Pokemon. Torchic rushed forward, with her beak glowing white, before she hit the Pokemon sending it flying backwards and hitting the ground a few miles away from Torchic. "All right, a direct hit!" May excitedly cheered, while Torchic happily jumped up in the air with a big smile.

The Pokemon slowly got up on its feet from that direct hit and was about to charge up another ball of energy, but then it clutched its arm as the pain from its wound suddenly caught up with it, which Ash and the others quickly took notice of. "What's wrong with it?" Misty asked, showing an expression of surprise. May had a close look as the Pokemon removed its paw from the wound and saw that the skin on its arm seemed to be torn open, leaving a red scar.

"Guys, I think that Pokemon is hurt! We need to help it." May gasped. Brock nodded in understanding hearing this and he took his bag from his shoulders and placed it down on the ground before he opened it up and started to rummage through it for a few seconds before he found a roll of bandage paper and showed it to May. "Hopefully this will help." Brock said. May looked at the roll before she showed a small smile and grabbed it from him.

"Thanks, Brock." May simply said. She then turned and slowly walked over to the Pokemon and bent down as it looked up to see her. "Hey, I've got something that might help that wound feel better." May said. She then started to pull a bit of the paper down before she tore it off the roll and passed it back to Brock. "All I need to do now is wrap this around that scar and hopefully that will help ease the pain." she explained as she turned back to the Pokemon who was watching in silence. However, as she went to wrap the paper around the scar, she was met with a surprise as the Pokemon smacked her hands away. "Hey, what's wrong with you? I'm trying to help you!" May snapped, showing an expression of irritation.

"(You get your hands away from me! I know what you want to do, and I won't let you.)" The Pokemon snapped, glaring at May. May showed an expression of surprise at this, and then she turned to the others uncertain of what to do now.

"I guess that Pokemon is a bit distrustful towards humans." Brock commented. May then looked down to think of what to do about this, and then a smile crossed her face as she got an idea. She then grabbed one of her Pokeballs and opened it, releasing Ralts who looked around in surprise before turning to May as she showed the piece of bandage paper to her.

"Do you think you can help us out, Ralts? I know that Pokemon isn't very fond of us, but I think a fellow Pokemon might be able to help." May explained. Ralts was silent before she simply nodded, understanding what was happening, and then she held the paper in her hands before she walked over to the Pokemon who turned its glance to see her walking over, and then it showed a glare to which she nearly jumped in surprise before quickly recovering.

"(It's okay. I can see you don't trust humans because of what's happened to you, but I promise that I'm just trying to help you.)" Ralts softly explained. The Pokemon simply turned its glance away and crossed its arms, obviously not convinced by what Ralts said.

"(A likely story...How do I know that you're not helping them?)" The Pokemon asked, to which Ralts showed an expression of surprise. "(Who do you mean?)" Ralts simply asked, wanting to know the reason behind this Pokemon's distrust in her and her friends.

"(The people that are tracking me down; they've followed me here. How do I know you're not working for them?)" The Pokemon asked in response. Ralts let out a silent gasp hearing that this Pokemon was being tracked down by someone, but then she simply shook her head and showed a comforting smile.

"(I wouldn't dream of hurting any Pokemon, unknown or otherwise. I was actually chased down myself, but then May and her friends came to my rescue.)" Ralts explained. The Pokemon slowly uncrossed its arms and turned its glance to Ralts with an expression of surprise hearing her say that, and then it looked up at Ash and the others who were watching this on all the while. "(They're friendly; they care for their Pokemon and would do anything to keep them safe from anyone who would try to threaten them. And I can safely promise you that we would never do anything to hurt you. We just want to help you.)" Ralts continued, showing a smile to the Pokemon to say that they were trustworthy. She then looked down at the paper she held in her hands before she added "(And I can prove it, too.)". With this, she got to work bandaging up the Pokemon's wound before it watched in surprise. Once the paper was wrapped completely around the Pokemon's arm, Ralts tied it up in a bow for the Pokemon to see. "(And there we go. What do you think?)" Ralts asked.

The Pokemon looked at the bandaged area where the scar used to be seen; it was as if it was had been covered completely, save for a red patch appearing underneath the bandage. After taking a few seconds to let this sink in, the Pokemon slowly looked up at Ralts. "(I haven't remembered to introduce myself yet, have I? My name's Ralts.)" Ralts said, simply holding her hand out to the Pokemon. The little Pokemon stared in silence for a few seconds before a small smile crossed its face and it placed its paw on top of Ralts's.

"(Ralts...I like it. I'm Riolu.)" The Pokemon replied. Ralts showed a bright smile at this and then the two turned their glance to Ash and the others who had been watching all the while. May showed a big smile seeing that Ralts was successful and bent down to look at Riolu.

"Well, it's great to see that you know we're friendly. My name's May and over here are Ash, Misty and Brock." May said, pointing to each of them as she made the introductions. The others all showed bright smiles and waved as they looked down at Riolu, who was looking at all of them with an expression of surprise. Misty then turned to Brock, having realised something that had completely slipped out of her mind until now.

"With all this running around we've done, we completely forgot about having breakfast! I can't believe I didn't realise that until just now." Misty commented, looking down with an expression of dismay. The others turned their heads to Misty in surprise hearing this, but then they realised that she was right; they hadn't remembered to have any breakfast prior to chasing after Riolu, which meant that they had missed out on one important meal of the day.

"Now you've mentioned it, I just realised how hungry I was feeling." May sighed as she could hear her stomach start to rumble; if she didn't have something to eat in the next few minutes, May was worried that she would nearly pass out again. Luckily, Brock seemed to take notice of this as he looked at the others with a big smile.

"Hey, that's not a problem at all, guys. I can whip us up some delicious lunch when we get back to the campsite. Does that sound good?" Brock asked. The others all immediately showed big smiles hearing this and May's eyes quickly went big in awe, exposing the bright blue colour in them.

"All right, Brock! You're a lifesaver!" Ash happily commented. "What are we waiting for?! Let's get going!" May cheerfully exclaimed. "That sounds great, Brock! Thanks!" Misty agreed, nodding with a big smile while Togepi let out a cheerful chirp in her arms.

As the two Pokemon watched, Ralts turned her glance to Riolu. "(Riolu, would you like to join us for some lunch? I think you must be really hungry from all the running you've probably been doing.)" Ralts suggested. Riolu was silent for a few seconds before he simply nodded with a small smile; that actually did sound good to him.

Back at the campsite, the group were all sitting together watching Brock as he was stirring a large serve of fried rice in a stir-fry pan over the fireplace he had set up. "It should be ready in a few minutes." Brock said, looking up to see the others watching on, all of them with big smiles on their faces. While that was happening, May turned her glance to see Riolu sitting by himself not far from the group, and he was looking down at the carving on the necklace he was wearing.

"Hey, guys, I don't think I've ever seen a Pokemon like Riolu before." May commented. The others all turned their glances to notice Riolu and nodded in agreement before they all looked back at each other. "I don't think any of us have, May. It doesn't seem like it's from Hoenn, that much I'm sure of." Brock replied. Ash kept his glance on Riolu while Misty showed an expression of puzzlement and started to scratch the side of her head.

"So then, if Riolu isn't from Hoenn, where is it from? And where did it get that necklace? It would be a lot of help to us if there was a way to figure that out." Misty commented, while Riolu wasn't paying attention to this conversation as he was looking down at the carving.

As soon as Ash heard that last comment from Misty, an expression of surprise quickly showed on his face and the world around him suddenly seemed to flash blue as an image suddenly played inside his mind like a movie he hadn't seen, almost as if that comment had suddenly struck a chord inside his mind he didn't know he had. He could see a building located in a place he had never seen before, with an unknown symbol at the front that had two string shapes at the bottom half and a cross shape in the middle, as well as Riolu receiving the carving from an old man and looking at it with a big smile on his face. After a few seconds, the image faded and the world around Ash's view returned to normal. But with this, Ash stood up and turned to the others. "Guys, I'm going to see if I can try to talk to Riolu." Ash said, before turning to Riolu and walking over to him while the others watched before looking at each other in surprise; they were wondering what had gotten into him.

While Riolu was looking down at his carving, he didn't hear Ash walking over before standing behind him. "Hey, Riolu. That carving's really important to you, isn't it?" Ash asked. Riolu turned his head to see Ash standing behind him and showed an expression of surprise as Ash sat down next to him. "I think I can tell. You were really protective of it when we found it, so I'll bet it matters a lot to you, right?" Ash continued, showing a gentle smile.

Riolu stared in silence for a few seconds before he nodded in agreement. "(Yes, that's right. This is really important to me.)" Riolu replied. Ash started to show a bigger smile, realising that he could make good progress with Riolu if he kept this up, and then he slowly scooted over so he was sitting closer next to Riolu without making the Pokemon feel uncomfortable. "Is it all right if I ask why it's that important to you?" Ash asked.

"(Well...)" Riolu let out a small sigh before turning his glance to Ash. "(It's because I received this back at my old home.)" Riolu replied. Ash showed an expression of surprise hearing this; that meant Riolu was definitely from somewhere different. He then nodded in understanding so he could let Riolu continue. "(You see, I'm actually from a place called the Lucario Kingdom, which is located in the Sinnoh Region. I used to live there and served as its guardian.)" Riolu explained. As Ash was listening to this, the world around him suddenly flashed blue again and an image played in his mind again, though this one was different from the one he had before.

_In a small village located somewhere between Mt. Coronet and Veilstone City, with a large castle located behind the village, Riolu was standing out in a field placing his paws and then thrusting them forward; he was practicing for the day he would learn Aura Sphere. While this was happening, an old man sat against a tree just ahead with a small carving knife in one hand and a carving figure in the other; he was making a small figure for Riolu, and he was none other than Riolu's trainer. After a few seconds, the man looked down at the carving before looking up at Riolu._

"_It's finished, Riolu!" The man called. Riolu turned his head with a big smile and ran over to see what was going on. "Here; this is for you." The man said, showing Riolu a carved figure of the little Pokemon's likeness. Riolu grabbed the carving in his paws before a big smile crossed his face; he really liked how accurate it was. Just then, the sound of screeching tires could be heard from behind Riolu, and Riolu turned his head to see a researcher with a Drowzee beside him and two men with full grey armour step out from a grey truck parked behind them._

_The old man stood up showing an expression of surprise. "Yes?" he asked. Without much hesitance, Riolu ran over to him and he bent down to hold Riolu close while the men walked over to them. "Who are you people?" The man asked._

"_Give us Riolu, or should I say 'Project RX1'." The researcher said. Riolu quickly showed an expression of worry, wondering what was going on, while his trainer simply held him close, refusing to let any harm come to him._

"_Don't you realise that Riolu is vital to the future of our kingdom?" The man asked. The researcher simply showed a smug smile, unfazed by this question._

"_Of course; that's why we're here." The researcher replied. One of the men in grey armour turned his glance down to Drowzee standing there and watching all the while. "Drowzee, use Psychic!" The man ordered. With this, Drowzee's eyes started to glow light blue and it raised its arms ready to attack._

_Before Riolu could have a chance to react, his trainer pushed him out of the way to take the attack for him, causing the Aura Pokemon to lose his grip on the carving while he stumbled backwards, as he could only watch the scene on in horror._

"(The rest of what happened still remains a blur to me; all I can remember is being experimented on for what seemed like weeks on end. It seemed like it would never end. But then, right as things seemed hopeless, that was when something unexpected happened.)"

_The next image that was shown was of a building against the backdrop of a starry night sky, with the full moon in view and clouds slowly drifting across the night sky. Near the entrance of the building, an explosion could be heard and flashlights lit up, as a security alarm started to blare while Riolu was fleeing with two unknown men wearing what seemed to be camouflage suits. While this was happening, the researcher that had captured Riolu rushed outside along with what seemed to be the same two men in full grey body armour to investigate what was happening. _

"_There it is! RX-1!" One of the men in grey armour called out. Riolu and the two men that were helping him escape turned their heads to see the large group of men that had come out to see to it that he didn't get away from them so easily._

"_The RX-1 is a priceless research tool. Get Riolu back at once!" The researcher ordered. However, one of the Pokemon that was alongside the three, a Golem, charged up an orange blast of energy in its mouth before firing it, to which the researchers barely had enough time to run out of the way as the energy blast struck the glass door in front of them, causing a large cloud of black smoke to show in the midst of the explosion it left behind._

_Once that was taken care of, the three turned and started to run for it to the truck that was coming to pick them up. As Riolu was running, he turned his head to see the symbol of the Lucario Kingdom on the jacket of one of the men that had broken him out; he was certain that they were going to help him get home. Sure enough, as they got to the dirt road, the truck zoomed down the road and screeched to a halt to allow the men and Riolu to get inside, as Riolu hopped in through the back while the men got into the front seats. Once that was taken care of, the truck sped off down the road._

_As the truck was driving down the road, Riolu was having a look around the back of the truck to see that there were various crates placed around him, and then he sat down on the floor with his legs crossed and closed his eyes to rest on the way back to the kingdom. But just then, his ears slowly rose as he could hear the voices from the front seat of the truck; it was from the men driving. "Excellent; Riolu finally belongs to me! And there will be no doubt about who gives the orders." One of the men, possibly the one in charge of the group stated showing a confident smile while doing. While this was happening, the men driving removed the symbols from their clothes; the symbols were obviously fake._

"_What a naive fool. That Riolu trusted us completely!" One of the men commented. "Promising to help Riolu doesn't mean we'd send it home." One of the other men added, as he tore the symbol from his jacket and scrunched it up in his head._

_While this was happening, Riolu showed an expression of determination, realising that he would be in more danger if he stayed in this truck. "(I have to escape immediately!)" Riolu stated to himself. With this, he stood up and charged a bright blue ball of energy between his paws before firing it, destroying the doors of the back of the truck and causing the drivers to bring the truck to a halt having heard the blast._

_Once the truck had stopped, Riolu jumped out, noticing the scar on his right arm, before running away between the tall dark green grass to avoid being noticed; he had to get as far away as possible._

_As Riolu continued his run, he stopped as he came near a harbour, sitting down against one of the large crates to catch his breath. "(I should be safe here for now. But I have to keep moving; I can't let them catch me!)" Riolu said, looking up. He then turned to see the ship nearby was getting ready to leave, so he jumped onto one of the mooring ropes and ran across it, before making his way onto the ship and hiding nearby as it started to leave port; it was making its way towards the Hoenn Region..._

After seeing the entirety of this story, the image faded and Ash was left simply staring with an expression of shock, unable to believe what he had just seen. As he seemed to have blanked out, he soon heard Misty's voice calling him. "Hey, Ash!" Ash then blinked rapidly and turned his head to see the others sitting with their bowls in their hands. "I've been calling you for the last few minutes now! I was trying to tell you that lunch was ready. You don't want to miss out, do you?" Misty asked. Ash simply stared in surprise before he nodded and walked over to where the others while Riolu followed behind him to join up with the group.

A little later, the group were enjoying their rice with May munching down with a big smile on her face. "Wow, Brock, this is delicious! I'll need to see if I can start trying to make your dishes soon." May commented; she had been learning by observation, but she figured that maybe she should start giving cooking a try sometime soon.

While this was happening, Ash was simply staring down at the ground, absentmindedly stirring his rice; he was lost in thought concerning everything he had learnt about Riolu, as well as wondering how exactly he was able to see everything he did. While Ash was busy thinking about all of this, May lifted her head up to notice that he wasn't eating his food. "Hey, Ash, are you alright?" May asked, showing an expression of concern. Ash darted his eyes up with an expression of surprise and quickly nodded.

"Uh...y-yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" he asked. The others all looked at him in surprise, wondering what had gotten into him. "Well, you don't really look fine to me. I don't remember a time that you haven't eaten outside of when we had to take care of things when Brock was sick." Misty commented, raising an eyebrow in suspicion; she had a feeling that something wasn't right about Ash's behaviour.

"Yeah, neither do I. Is everything okay?" Brock asked. Ash then looked down letting out a silent sigh, since he knew that the others were going to keep asking him about his behaviour if he didn't tell them about what was going on with him.

'_What will they say if I tell them all of this, though? Will they probably think I'm crazy? I guess there's only one way to be certain.' _Ash thought to himself. With this, he showed a firm expression and nodded before looking up at the others while Riolu watched from sitting beside him. "Guys...I think I know where Riolu is from." Ash started, feeling ready to explain everything.

Meanwhile in another part of the forest, James poked his head out from behind a bush and then turned his glance in both directions, showing an expression of worry. "Jessie? Jessie, where are you?" he asked; he had been looking for Jessie for a good few minutes and he hadn't had much success yet. As James turned his glance forward, that was when he noticed something: there just in front of him was Jessie. She was lying down on the grass and looking down at the river stream just in front of her. James showed a bright smile, noticing that he had found her and she was also alright, and then he stood up and slowly walked out from behind the bushes to where she was.

Jessie didn't notice James coming over to her; she was looking down at her reflection in the river with an expression of sadness. After a few seconds, Jessie let out a small sigh to herself; she was thinking about what May had said to her, James and Meowth.

"_You guys aren't bad people, you've just made a bad desicion."_

"_Have you ever considered that there might be more to life for you outside of Team Rocket?"_

"_It's never too late to change."_

Those words rang loud and clear in Jessie's head, but the last line in particular was what she was thinking about. _"It's never too late to change." _Ever since she heard that, Jessie couldn't stop thinking about it and for good reason; she was also thinking about everything that she and her comrades had been through for the past few years and as much as she didn't want to believe it, she was starting to realise that...deciding to become part of Team Rocket was probably the worst decision she had ever made. True, it did result in her meeting James again after so long, but in the long run, it hadn't done either of them, or Meowth, any good. As all of this was spiralling through Jessie's mind, she didn't notice James had come over and was lying down next to her.

"Jessie, here you are!" Jessie was immediately snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing that familiar voice and then she turned her glance to see James lying down on the grass next to her and she showed an expression of surprise seeing him here. "James? How did you find me?" Jessie asked.

"Meowth filled me in on where you went, so I thought I'd come look for you." James explained. Jessie slowly nodded in understanding and then she quickly showed an expression of dismay and looked back down at her reflection to which James showed an expression of concern. "What's wrong, Jessie?" he softly asked. Jessie lifted her glance up to James to see him showing a gentle smile; he was here to listen to anything she had to say. Jessie let out a small sigh, knowing that she could tell James anything, before the two sat up together.

"Well, James...I've been thinking about what that twerpette said to us yesterday." Jessie said. James showed an expression of surprise hearing this. "You mean May?" he asked, tilting his head out of curiosity; he still remembered May's name from when they first heard it when Ash set out to look for her. Jessie simply nodded in agreement, deciding not to ask James how he knew her name for the moment, and then she turned her glance up to the clear blue sky while James looked up with her.

"You know, James, you and I have both been together since the day we met." Jessie commented. James turned his head and then showed an expression of puzzlement hearing this. "Well actually, we've only really been together since we were locked in that prison cell by those clone Pokemon." James replied, scratching his head in puzzlement. Jessie then showed an expression of annoyance at this reply.

"You know what I mean!" Jessie retorted, prompting James to nearly jump back in surprise before he nodded; he understood what Jessie was trying to say. With that taken care of, Jessie let out a sigh to calm herself down before she was able to continue. "As I was saying, we've been together for as long as I can remember, being part of Team Rocket. But, with what's happened recently, I'm starting to wonder whether or not I really see us doing this for the rest of our lives." Jessie explained. James was pretty much silent as he listened to Jessie and then he looked down to think about what she was saying.

'_Jessie did say something about that while we were on the ship on our way here... Maybe this is what she was talking about when she said that.' _James thought to himself. He then looked back up at Jessie and nodded in understanding. "So, what you're pretty much saying is...?" he asked, showing an expression of puzzlement.

"That's right. I'm starting to think that maybe this wasn't as good of an idea as I once thought. I mean, look at us, James. We're trying to do everything we can as part of Team Rocket, but we never seem to succeed no matter how hard we try. Maybe being part of Team Rocket was a big mistake for us..." Jessie continued, turning her glance to James before looking down at the ground with an expression of sadness as she slowly closed her eyes; she was usually the one in charge of their trio, but right now she had no idea of what to do about their situation.

James was listening in silence and then he looked down to think for a few moments, trying to figure out what they could do about where they were. And then, another piece of advice that May said to them came into his head. _"I think you guys can actually be really good people if you decide to do something about where you are." _Upon remembering that, a smile quickly came to James's face and he nodded in confirmation, having an idea in mind. He then looked back at Jessie; he was sure that this would be a good idea. "Then we'll do something about it, Jess." James simply stated. Jessie looked up at him with an expression of surprise, wondering where he was getting at with this. "I know that this might sound crazy, and you have every right to think so, but I think we should try to turn ourselves around." James explained.

"How would we be able to do that, though?" Jessie asked. James simply showed a reassuring smile and took Jessie's hands in his, to which she looked up at him in surprise. "That part, I haven't figured out yet. But I do know something: as long as we work together, I'm sure that this will work out for us. I know we can change our current situation for the better." James replied. Jessie was silent as soon as she heard this and, noticing the sincerity in James's voice as he said that, she then slowly showed a bright smile and nodded.

"You're right, James. If you think we can change the way we are now, then we'll do just that!" Jessie replied, showing a confident smile. James showed a big smile at this reply, thrilled to hear that Jessie agreed with him, but then Wobbuffet popped out his Pokeball cheering "Wobbuffet!" in agreement with Jessie, to which she and James turned to him with matching expressions of annoyance. "Are you, by any chance, familiar with the saying 'There's a time and place for everything'? Because I can think of a few places where you'd fit right in!" Jessie snapped. Wobbuffet simply showed a nervous smile and started to rub the back of his head; he had a feeling that he had come out when he wasn't asked for again.

Just then, Jessie and James could hear rustling coming from the bush beside them and turned their heads to see Cacnea jump out from behind and run over to them, James showing a smile of surprise. "Cacnea? What are you doing here? Didn't I ask Meowth to keep an eye on you?" James asked. As soon as he asked that, Meowth then ran out from behind the bush having caught up with Cacnea.

"So there you are, Cacnea! Sorry about that, fellas. Cacnea was starting to wonder what was taking you so long, so he ran over to find out if everything was okay." Meowth explained, scratching the back of his head. Jessie and James both looked at each other showing matching smiles before looking back at Meowth.

"We're more than okay, Meowth, because we actually have something to say that we decided upon." James replied. "We've both had a talk about this and since you're here, it would be best if we made the decision as a team. We decided that...we're calling it quits on being part of Team Rocket!" Jessie explained, showing a confident smile while saying this. Meowth stared in dumbfounded silence before he nearly jumped in alarm.

"Wha... What did I hear you just say?!" Meowth gasped; that was something he couldn't believe he was hearing. Once he had a few seconds to let that sink in, he shook his head rapidly before turning his glance back to Jessie and James. "Are you fellas crazy?! Don't you even realise what you're saying?!" Meowth blurted. Jessie and James didn't seem fazed by Meowth's outburst because they both nodded.

"We sure do, Meowth. That's why Jessie said we should make this decision as a team; we wanted to make sure we all agreed with it." James replied. "I mean, let's be honest for a second here. Can you really see us doing this for the rest of our lives? For me, a life like that would be out of the question; I think there could be something more for us besides this." Jessie explained. Meowth looked down to think as he scratched his chin for a few moments; he had always mentioned that he thought it would be better for them if they just got a life, and since he now knew that Jessie had been thinking about that, maybe this wasn't out of the question for them at all.

"But...what would happen to our top billing privileges? Who would the Boss give those to?" Meowth asked, showing an expression of worry.

"I'll bet he'll probably give them to Butch and Cassidy. After all, those two are probably more worthy of those than we are." James replied. "And besides, look at us, Meowth; we're probably more worth a chance to change our image than we once thought. I honestly think doing something like that would be possible for us. If we can change, then we will." Jessie explained. Meowth was silent as he listened to all of this and, after only a second of silence, he simply nodded.

"Yeah...I guess you guys are right. It's worth a shot!" Meowth replied, showing a bright smile to say that he agreed with them. The Rocket Trio then all turned their heads to each other and nodded before placing their hands on top of each others' and letting out a cheer; today would be the start of a new life for them.

Just then, a loud whirring sound could be heard in the sky and the Rocket Trio looked up to see two large grey aircrafts fly over them, sending a large gust of wind blowing in their direction and causing leaves to fly off the trees around them, which quickly prompted the Rocket Trio to jump up to their feet and run behind a tree to hide. As the wind died down, the Rocket Trio slowly poked their heads out to see the aircrafts fly off ahead, all three of them staring in disbelief.

"What in the world?" Jessie asked. She then turned her head to the others as they both looked over at her. "Did you two see what I just saw?" she then asked.

James nodded in agreement. "I think so." he simply replied, before they turned their heads back in the direction the aircrafts went in. "I wonder where they were heading off to." James commented.

"Well, if there's something going on, I guess we should try to find out about it. Come on, you two; follow me." Jessie said, turning to the other two members of her team before she started to rush off ahead, while James and Meowth followed behind her; this was going to be an unexpected start to their road of turning over a new leaf.

Back with Ash and the others, Ash had finished filling the others in on everything that Riolu had told him. There was silence for a few seconds as the others were trying to take in everything that Ash had said before May was the first to speak up. "Wow...it's amazing that Riolu went through that much to get here." May commented. But then, an expression of puzzlement quickly showed on her face as she looked up to think about something. "But...just one question, Ash. How were you able to know exactly everything Riolu had been through getting here?" she then asked, while Brock and Misty both looked at her before looking back at Ash.

"Yeah; I don't exactly remember you having a photographic memory. No offense, though." Brock agreed, quickly raising his hands while he made that last comment. Ash simply showed a smile of amusement and let out a small giggle before slowly shaking his head.

"None taken, Brock." Ash replied. He then turned his glance to May. "And to answer your question, May, I'm not entirely sure how I knew all of that. But...it's almost like I can see things in my mind that I normally wouldn't be able to, almost like some kind of third eye." Ash explained, looking down to think while he was saying that. There was silence from the others for a few seconds as soon they heard that, as if they were trying to register what they just heard, until the first person to speak up was May as she showed a smile of awe.

"Wow...that sounds incredible! A bit strange, but incredible nonetheless." May happily commented. Ash simply nodded in agreement with a smile; he thought the same way. Misty simply stared blankly before she raised her hands to halt the conversation, to which the others turned their glances to her.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, slam the brakes on this train of thought. I'm trying to keep up. So what you're saying is that Riolu's from a different region altogether?" Misty asked.

"Yeah." Ash agreed, nodding.

"And that Riolu used to live in a place called the Lucario Kingdom before it was captured to be used as an experiment for some people that had plans for it?"

"(That's right.)" Pikachu replied, nodding in agreement.

"And then Riolu escaped another group after believing that they were going to bring it home before finding out what they were really up to and made its way here?"

"That's pretty much what they said." May confirmed, as she and Brock turned their glances to Misty while she was trying to confirm everything they had just heard.

"And we also find out that Ash has some sort of ability that enables him to see things that he normally wouldn't be able to?"

"Yeah, that basically sums it up." Brock responded. Misty stared in stunned silence for a few seconds before she grasped her head with both hands, showing an expression of immense confusion.

"I don't know if I can wrap my head around all of this... I think I need to lie down for a few minutes." Misty commented, before she stood up and started to walk away from the campsite while the others watched in surprise.

"Is Misty alright?" Ash asked, as he showed an expression of concern while May simply showed a smile. "Yeah, I think she's fine. I guess she's just trying to make sense of everything she just heard." May replied. Ash simply nodded in understanding and turned his glance back to May and Brock who both looked over at him. "But seriously, I think that's such an awesome ability! I had no idea that kind of thing was possible." May happily commented, showing a smile of awe; she was still awestruck after hearing Ash explain how he was able to see everything he did to them and she found that kind of thing to be really extraordinary.

"Neither did I. But...how do you think it's even possible?" Ash asked, showing a big smile before an expression of puzzlement crossed his face as he started to wonder how he was capable of seeing things like this. May and Brock both placed their hands under their chins as they started to think about it.

"(I think I might be able to answer that.)" Riolu then said, standing up from sitting beside Ash. Ash, May and Brock all turned their heads to Riolu with matching expressions of surprise while he jumped from the rock he had been sitting on and turned around to face Ash.

"(All living things in this world have their own Aura, which is like a feeling or a spirit within them. Certain beings like myself are able to use their Aura as different kinds of power, and there are even humans who are able to do the same thing. There are even certain living things whose Auras connect, and it seems that you and I are a perfect match.)" Riolu explained, turning his glance up to Ash who was staring in shock, while May and Brock were both listening to this. "R-really?" Ash simply asked, finding this to be a real shock to his system, hearing that he had this kind of power he never knew about until now. Pikachu showed an expression of awe, and turned his head up to Ash, hearing all of this being said about his friend. "(Ash...)" Pikachu could only say, staring in wordlessness.

"It's amazing... It's like Ash can understand what Riolu is saying." May silently gasped, staring with an expression of awe. Brock could only nod in agreement, finding it hard to describe his feelings on the matter. Riolu then turned to May and nodded in agreement.

"(That's right, and our Auras being connected is also the reason your friend was able to see everything he did, as well as how he can understand what I am saying. And I don't think that will the only thing he will be capable of; like me, I think Ash will be able to use his Aura as power like I do.)" Riolu replied. The group all let out silent gasps of shock before turning their heads up to Ash, who could only stare in dumbfounded silence, struggling to register what he heard.

"No way... I'd... be able to do things like that?" Ash quietly asked, staring in silence. There was silence for a few seconds before May slowly showed a big smile and she jumped up in excitement, while the others turned to her in surprise.

"Ash, this is incredible! It's like you have some kind of hidden powers we had no idea about. That is so amazing!" May exclaimed. Brock turned to watch her in surprise, while Ash could only stare in stunned silence, trying to let everything he had learnt sink in. While this was happening, the group turned their heads to see Misty walk over, no longer looking completely confused. "Misty, you're back! You will not believe what we've just learnt about Ash." May said, showing a bright smile seeing that Misty had returned.

"Whatever it is, May, can you please tell me later? I don't want to get even more of a headache than I have now." Misty replied, still holding her head in one of her hands, as she was trying to recover from hearing what she had found out so far. She then walked over and sat down next to Brock before turning her head to Riolu. "Riolu, I may not have a clue of what exactly is going on, but if there's someone that's trying to capture you, I won't let them get you. They'll think twice before messing with someone like me!" Misty stated, showing an expression of determination before she stood up and raised one fist in the air to show that she meant business. The others stared at her in silence before they nodded in agreement.

"Same here! We'll make sure those people don't capture you again, Riolu." May agreed, turning her head to Riolu with a bright smile while he looked up at her in surprise. He then turned his glance to Brock as the latter nodded in agreement. "May's right. We'll make sure that you're safe with us, and we'll help you get home at the same time." Brock replied. Riolu started to show a small smile hearing that the group were willing to help him escape from the captors that were chasing him. The group then turned their heads to Ash to hear what he had to say about this. Ash lifted his head up to see everyone looking at him and then he looked down to think, with an expression of uncertainty on his face. He was still trying to make sense of what had just happened: not only had he found out about where Riolu was from and how he got there, but he had also learnt that he had some kind of power that he never knew about. _'I guess I shouldn't worry thinking about it too much for now; I'm sure it'll all make sense later on.' _Ash thought to himself, as they had more important matters to worry about for the time being. With this, he looked up at the others, showing a bright smile and promptly nodded in agreement.

"That's right, guys! Riolu, we'll help you find a way to your home. Do you think you'll be safe with us?" Ash asked, looking down at Riolu just to be sure that the little Pokemon would agree with this. Riolu was silent for a few moments before he showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; this seemed like it was just fine by him. "That's great to hear!" Ash happily replied. With this, he and the others all looked up at each other, knowing what exactly their plan was in mind. "After we're done here, we'll get a move on before whoever is following Riolu finds us." Ash explained. The others nodded in agreement, as it sounded like a good plan to them. But they should have picked a more appropriate time to say that because, as they were busy in their conversation, they didn't notice two large grey aircrafts slowly flying towards where they were. While that was going on, the Rocket Trio poked their heads out from a bush just nearby from the camping site.

"Look! There's the aircrafts we saw before." Jessie noticed, pointing up to the sky as the three turned their heads up to see the aircrafts in question making their way towards the site where Ash and the others were. The three then lifted their heads down to see Ash and the others sitting together at the site they had set up. As they were wondering what was going on, Meowth's eyes quickly grew in intrigue when he saw a Pokemon with them.

"Hey, check that out!" Meowth said, pointing to the Pokemon in question. Jessie and James both looked with him to see Riolu sitting on the log beside Ash. "What sort of Pokemon is that?" James asked, scratching the side of his head in puzzlement.

"It doesn't look like any kind of Pokemon we've seen before..." Meowth replied. He was silent to think for a few seconds before a big smile quickly crossed his face. "Hey, I'll bet that's a rare Pokemon! It's one we haven't seen before!" Meowth suggested. Jessie and James both showed matching bright smiles; that seemed to be the case to them. "And my case is that whoever is in those aircrafts up there has some kind of business with that Pokemon." Meowth then continued, turning his head up to the aircrafts in the sky before looking back down at Riolu. Jessie had been paying attention to this the entire time, and then she turned to James and Meowth, as an idea had crossed her mind.

"If that's the case, then we should stop them before they have a chance to capture it for themselves." Jessie said. James and Meowth both turned to her with matching expressions of surprise. "And how do you suggest we should do that, Jess?" James asked. Jessie looked at their surroundings for a few seconds before spotting a tree nearby that had a low hanging branch, just low enough for them to grab hold of.

"We'll get up onto their aircrafts and catch them by surprise. Let's go!" Jessie replied, showing a confident smile that her idea would be a success. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, so the three made their way over to the tree and started to climb up onto the branch one by one, with Jessie pulling James by the hand to help him up and James grabbing Meowth to help him up at the same time.

Meanwhile, Ash and the others weren't taking notice to any of these happenings; they had just finished up with their lunch. "So, guys, you ready to get going?" Ash asked, as they stood up with their bags all packed up and set to go. The others nodded in agreement, as they were ready to keep going through Petalburg Woods. Just then, a strong wind started to blow their direction, prompting the group to look around in surprise, wondering what could be causing it.

"What's going on? I don't remember the wind being this strong out here." Misty commented. The four then looked up to see the cause of the blowing wind: two grey aircrafts were slowly coming towards where they were standing. "What the...? What are those doing out here?" Misty asked, as the group all stared with expressions of surprise on their faces. Riolu then let out a gasp of shock; he could recognize the owners of those aircrafts from anywhere.

"(It's them! They've found me!)" Riolu cried, turning to Ash with an expression of worry. Ash turned his glance to Riolu, noticing that he was staring at the aircrafts in shock and showed an expression of concern.

"Riolu, what's wrong?" Ash asked. Riolu pointed up to the aircrafts in response and Ash turned his glance back to them, before it started to make sense of him; if Riolu's panic was much to go by, that meant the people who had been pursuing Riolu were possibly the ones piloting the aircrafts that were coming their way. Realising just what was happening, Ash turned his head back to the others "Guys, I think whoever's after Riolu found out where it is!" he explained. The others turned their heads in surprise to Ash hearing this, and then Misty turned around to him showing a determined expression.

"If that's the case, Ash, you better make a run for it with Riolu! We'll stay here and hold them back to make sure they don't find you!" Misty explained. Ash could only show an expression of shock at this reply; he wasn't sure whether or not the others would be able to manage taking on whoever was after Riolu while he escaped with Riolu beside him. But, deciding that now wasn't a time to argue over the decision, Ash simply nodded before looking down at Riolu.

"Come on, Riolu, we've got to run!" Ash said. Riolu nodded in agreement, and then the two turned and started to run for it to get deeper into Petalburg Woods. May turned her head to notice this and then an expression of concern crossed her face before she started to follow. "Ash, wait for me! I'm going to help too!" May called, as she started to run to catch up with Ash and Riolu. Brock and Misty then both turned their heads to see May running off with matching expressions of alarm.

"May, where are you going?" Brock asked. May turned her head back to the two before she replied "I'm helping Ash escape with Riolu! You two make sure those captors don't catch up!" May replied. Brock and Misty were silent for a few seconds before they both nodded and then turned their attentions back to the aircrafts as they were hovering up in the sky above their heads.

Back with the Rocket Trio, they were scaling their way to the top of the tree so they could reach the aircrafts. "Come on, you two! If we're going to do climbing, try to pull your own weight down there!" Jessie snapped, glaring down at her partners with an expression of annoyance: it seemed that James and Meowth were having a hard time keeping up with Jessie, as they had sat down on a tree branch to rest for a few moments while she was stuck waiting for them.

"That's easy for you to say, Jessie. We're not as experienced with this whole climbing business as you are." Meowth replied. James then lifted his head up to Jessie while she glared at them.

"Not only that, but we have no idea how far it will be until we reach those aircrafts. It seems like they're higher up than we are." James added. Wobbuffet then popped out of Jessie's Pokeball from behind her and nodded in agreement, blurting "Wobbuffet!" while doing so. James and Meowth both stared at him in surprise while Jessie showed an expression of annoyance.

"How hard is it for you to understand the concept of staying in your Pokeball?! What do you think they were made for?" Jessie asked. She then let out a sigh of annoyance, wondering what it would take for her to get Wobbuffet to stop coming out when she didn't need him. But just then, the three could feel the strong force of winds blowing their direction and turned their heads to see that the aircrafts were making their way down to the ground. "Look, here they come! We can reach them from here!" Jessie called. With this, the three started to walk over across the branch, but the force of the winds were so strong, they were left having to hold onto the tree tight to avoid getting blown away. The Rocket Trio then looked down to see the aircrafts having touched the ground, and the two men that were piloting opened the cockpits before stepping out. "Well, so much for that plan working out..." Jessie sighed.

As they were looking down in dismay, Meowth turned his head to the right with an expression of surprise. "Hey, look at that!" Meowth suddenly said. Jessie and James both turned their heads to see what it was that Meowth spotted and they noticed that it was a Wurmple on the far end of the branch munching on tree leaves. "Well, what do you know? It's a Wurmple!" Meowth commented as he and the other two started to show matching bright smiles at their find.

"Would you look at that!" Jessie happily commented. "I had a feeling there was a reason we'd be hanging around." James added.

Without much hesitance on her part, Jessie grabbed one of her empty Pokeballs from her belt and threw it, touching Wurmple before it opened and Wurmple went inside in a red light before the Pokeball closed and landed on the branch. The Rocket Trio watched as the Pokeball shook for a few seconds before it stopped, prompting them to let out matching cheers of excitement. Jessie then swung up onto the tree branch to fetch the Pokeball. "Wurmple, come to Jessie!" she happily said. Just then, Wobbuffet popped up to see what was going on, and his extra weight caused the tree branch to break off, sending the Rocket Trio plummeting towards the ground.

Back with Brock and Misty, the two watched as the men jumped out from their aircrafts, wearing their full grey armour and removed their helmets to reveal that one had short dark brown hair and the other had short dark blue hair. "What do you two want?" Brock asked as he and Misty stared at the two with expressions of determination. The dark brown haired man turned his head to see the two standing there and showed a smug smile before he and his partner started to walk over. "We better be careful, Misty. These guys look like they mean business." Brock suggested. Misty nodded in agreement; she was thinking the same thing.

"We're looking for Project RX-1. You two wouldn't happen to have any knowledge of its whereabouts, would you?" The man asked. Misty took a step forward while Brock watched her and pointed directly at the men.

"If you're talking about Riolu, then you're out of luck! You won't be able to find it here; it already made an escape before you got here." Misty replied. The two men didn't seem to be convinced, as they took a few steps closer while Brock and Misty slowly backed away, staring at them fearlessly.

"Well, we'll just have to take care of you two, and then we'll be off to find Project RX-1. Go, Crobat!" The brown haired man replied, before grabbing a Pokeball from his belt and throwing it, causing it to open and release a large dark purple bat-like Pokemon with bright yellow eyes with four wings, two large and two small that had greenish-blue undersides. "Drapion, come out!" The blue haired man added, throwing out of his Pokeballs which opened and released a large purple scorpion-like Pokemon with pointed-shaped eyes, violet to lavender segments on its body with a large tail at the end that had two stingers and huge white claws. Brock and Misty both stared at Drapion in shock; it looked like it was another Pokemon they hadn't seen before.

"Well, we'll show you what we can do! Let's go, Starmie!" Misty replied, before throwing out one of her own Pokeballs. "Forretress, let's go!" Brock added, throwing the one Pokeball he had. The two Pokeballs then opened and released their Pokemon in question, who landed on the ground safely ready to face their opponents.

"All right, Drapion, use Poison Tail!" The blue haired man ordered. "And Crobat, use Air Slash!" The brown haired man added. At that cue, Drapion's tail started to glow bright purple and it charged forward while Crobat started to fly towards Starmie and Forretress.

"Starmie, use Ice Beam!" Misty called. "Forretress, use Rapid Spin!" Brock added. With this, Starmie fired a strong blast of ice from the jewel in the centre of its body, while Forretress withdrew his cannons into his shell before it closed and he started to spin around in circles rapidly like a flying top. Forrteress slammed into Drapion, while Crobat flew out of the way of the ice blast before slashing forward with its wings, which Starmie narrowly dodged out of the way of.

"All right, now use Water Pulse!" Misty said. With this, Starmie shot out a strong pulse of water from its jewel which hit Crobat and sent it flying straight into Drapion, which sent the two Pokemon flying backwards and slamming against the back of a tree. "Yes, it worked!" Misty cheered, jumping up in the air with a big smile while Togepi let out a happy chirp in her arms.

The two men watched this in alarm before turning their glances to Brock and Misty with matching glares as their Pokemon recovered and made their way back to the battlefield. "Now you've done it, you two! Drapion, use Earthquake!" The blue haired man snapped. With this, Drapion jumped up into the air before landing back on the ground setting off a rumble that shook the ground rapidly and caused the field to split and sent large sharp rocks striking up, which hit both Starmie and Forretress and sent them flying up into the air before they hit the ground while Brock and Misty stared in shock. Once that was taken care of, the two men showed matching smiles as Brock and Misty withdrew their Pokemon into their Pokeballs. "Well, that proved to be easier than we thought. Now we'll be on our way to find Project RX-1." The blue haired man commented. The brown haired man then turned his head to Crobat who was flying beside them.

"Crobat, go further into the woods and see if you can locate Riolu." The brown haired man said. Crobat gave a nod in response and then set off, flying over Brock and Misty's heads, who watched the men as they made their way to their aircrafts and jumped back behind the controls. "We'll be on our way now." The brown haired man said, before the glass compartments on the aircrafts closed and they slowly lifted up into the air before taking off while Brock and Misty both watched in shock.

"They're going to go after Ash and May!" Misty gasped, showing an expression of alarm at this realization. She then showed an expression of determination and turned her glance to Brock. "Come on! We've got to catch up to them before they find Ash and May!" Misty quickly stated. With this, she started to rush off after the aircrafts while Brock stared for a few seconds before following suit.

Meanwhile, back with Ash and Riolu, the two were continuing their run through the woods to get away from the captors. After a few more seconds of running, the two stopped to catch their breaths, with Ash placing his hand against a tree for something to lean on. "I think... we lost them, Riolu..." Ash gasped, trying to catch his breath while he was talking. Riolu showed a small smile of relief hearing this; that seemed to be a good sign. Ash then lifted his head to look up before turning his glance down to Riolu. "Are you okay?" he asked. Riolu looked up at Ash and nodded, to which Ash showed a bright smile. "Well, that's good to hear." Ash commented.

"Yeah... tell me about it..." Hearing that voice behind him, Ash turned his head to see that May was running over to catch up with him. "Ash, there you are! I was wondering how far you were going to run before I could catch up with you." May commented. Ash showed an expression of surprise seeing that May was here.

"May? How come you came over?" Ash asked as she stopped once she caught up with him. "I wanted to help you make sure that Riolu was safe, so you had someone else backing up and Riolu up. That's not too much of a problem, right?" May asked in response, standing upright to face Ash. Ash simply showed a bright smile and shook his head.

"No, that's not a problem at all! Brock and Misty are okay, though, right?" Ash asked. May cheerfully nodded with a bright smile. "Knowing them, I'm sure they'll have everything under control." May replied. Just then, the two could hear a screech come from behind them and turned their heads with matching expressions of surprise.

"What's that?" May asked. After a few seconds, the two were met with a shock as Crobat flew out from behind the trees and they barely had enough time to duck their heads as the bat Pokemon flew over them, before they looked up to see the Pokemon stop and turn around to face them, flapping its wings rapidly while Ash and May stared in shocked silence. "What is that?" May asked, staring up at the Pokemon in alarm.

"It's a Crobat!" Ash replied; he could recognise that Pokemon in an instant. Before May could have a chance to grab out her Pokedex to look up Crobat, it opened its mouth and let out a loud shriek, which caused bright blue vibrations to come out of its mouth. Ash and May promptly covered their ears in an effort to drown out the noise. "It's using Screech!" Ash yelled out, his voice barely audible underneath the screeching. "Well, I think it works too well!" May cried in response.

At the same time, somewhere else in the woods, the Rocket Trio were lying on the ground with their ears covered as they could hear the screech from where they were. "What in the world is that noise?!" Jessie yelled. "My guess is that's a Screech attack!" James replied. "I feel like my eardrums are being shattered like glass!" Meowth wailed, as the three were trying to block the noise out.

Back with Ash and May, the two still had their ears covered, and Ash turned his glance to Pikachu who had pulled his ears down. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu let go of his ears and jumped off Ash's shoulder before releasing a strong bolt of electricity that hit Crobat, before it broke out of the electricity, shaking itself rapidly.

"All right, bring it on, Crobat! Torchic, use Ember!" May said, grabbing out one of her Pokeballs and throwing it, which opened and released Torchic who shot out small blasts of fire from her beak. Corbat effortlessly flew out of the way from the fire blasts before shooting out a stream of purple barbs from its mouth, to which Torchic jumped in shock before running away as the barbs struck the ground that she had been standing at.

Without much hesitance on his part, Riolu ran straight up a tree beside him before getting up onto a branch and jumping off to get straight to Crobat. "(You're not going to get away with capturing me!)" Riolu called, as he landed on Crobat's back. Unfortunately, that proved to be a bad move on his part, as Crobat turned its glance to see him and then a strong gale of wind started to blow their direction. Ash and May both looked up to see the source: the aircrafts had arrived as the men had jumped back in them. Having Riolu in tow, Crobat started to fly up towards the aircraft while Ash and May watched in shock.

"Riolu, jump! We'll catch you!" May called. Riolu turned his head to the two and promptly nodded, but before he had a chance to do so, he was caught by a small net that the brown haired man had in tow. "You're not going anywhere, RX-1. Thank you, you two. You saved us the trouble of looking for Riolu. And now we'll be on our way." The man said, before the cockpit of his aircraft slowly closed, and the aircrafts took off with Riolu trapped inside one of them.

"Come on, May! We've got to catch up with them!" Ash said, turning to May with an expression of determination. May promptly nodded in agreement, showing the same expression, and then the two started to run after the aircrafts as they sped off across the sky.

Meanwhile, Brock and Misty were both making their way to try and find Ash and May; they were hoping they couldn't have gone too far. "Where do you think they could be?" Misty asked, showing an expression of concern as she was darting her head back and forth. "My guess is that they probably went off with Riolu. And if that's the case, I hope they'll both be alright keeping Riolu safe." Brock replied.

Misty could only nod in agreement; while she had no idea of what was going on or why those men wanted Riolu, all she knew for sure was that they had to make sure the men didn't find Riolu, or try to hurt Ash and May in the process. "Ash, May, I hope you two are okay. If those men did anything to you, I'll make sure they receive a lesson they won't forget!" Misty said to herself, with Togepi staring up at her in concern all the while.

Back with Ash and May, the two had been running for a good while, but they hadn't seen any sign of the aircrafts. They then stopped to have a proper look at their surroundings. "I don't see them; they must have taken off far ahead. They could be anywhere in the forest. How would we ever be able to find them in a forest this big?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. May then looked down to think; she remembered Riolu's explanation about how his and Ash's auras were connected, and what he said about it. As she was silent, an idea started to click in her head and she showed a bright smile.

"Ash, I just had a thought." May stated. Ash turned to her with an expression of surprise, wondering what her idea was. "Riolu said that your Auras are connected, right?" May asked. Ash slowly nodded in agreement, wanting to know where she was getting at with this. "Well, since that's the case, wouldn't that mean that you would be able to locate Riolu through your connection?" May suggested.

Ash looked down to think about it for a few seconds, showing an expression of uncertainty. _'That does make sense when you put it that way; if Riolu and I are connected through our Auras like May said, that means we would be able to know where we were, no matter how far we are apart. But... will this work? Would I be able to do something like that? I guess there's only one way to find out.' _Ash thought to himself. With this, he showed a bright smile and turned his head to May before nodding. "All right then, May. I'll give it a shot." Ash stated. May showed a bright smile at this and nodded in agreement, waiting to see how this would turn out.

With this, Ash turned his head to the front so he could pay attention to his surroundings, ready to give this a try. He then quietly took a deep breath and closed his eyes to focus, with Pikachu watching him with an expression of surprise, wondering what he was doing, while May waited patiently to see if they would have much success with her idea. There was dead silence for what seemed to be a few minutes, as the silent wind blew in the trees around the pair. After a few more seconds, Ash suddenly saw an image appear in his mind: he could see the aircrafts flying up in the sky, with Riolu in tow and the little Pokemon in question looking down in worry, hoping that Ash and May were on their way to find him. At this, Ash opened his eyes showing an expression of surprise while May watched in silence. "Ash? Did you get any results?" she asked. Ash turned his head to her and nodded, showing a bright smile.

"I think I know where we need to go. Come on, follow me." Ash replied. With this, he started to run off ahead while May followed after him, showing a big smile as she was thrilled to see that her idea was a success.

At the same time, up with the aircrafts, the two men were behind their controls with Riolu in tow, sitting on Crobat's back and trapped by the net he was snared in. "This proved to be more of a success than I imagined. Hunter J will be pleased when she learns about this." The brown haired man commented. Outside, Riolu could hear the conversation that was taking place and he showed an expression of anger as he was listening.

"(If I were able to get myself out of this net, I wouldn't hesitate in giving them the punishment they deserve!)" Riolu snapped. He then let out a silent sigh, knowing that he couldn't do anything at the moment and turned his glance down to the forest below with an expression of worry. "(But all I can do at the moment is wait for Ash and his friends to find me. I'm sure that they will be able to do that.)" Riolu added to himself, showing an expression of concern.

Down with Ash and May, the two were continuing their way through the forest to try and find the aircrafts. "Where could they be? I'm sure they'd be here somewhere..." Ash commented, darting his head back and forth. As May was looking around, she turned her glance upwards and she let out a gasp of shock. "Ash, look! There they are!" May said, pointing up to the sky. Ash turned his glance to May in surprise and then looked up to see that sure enough, the aircrafts were flying above their heads.

"We don't have any time to waste now, May! Taillow, let's go! Help us get Riolu down!" Ash said, grabbing out one of his Pokeballs and throwing it, which opened and released Taillow, who then flew up to the aircrafts to get to Crobat who had Riolu on tow. As Riolu sat on Crobat's back, he could hear a cry down below and looked down to see Taillow flying up towards him and showed a bright smile. Crobat turned its head to notice this as well and showed a glare, determined not to let Riolu escape so easily. As Crobat slashed at Taillow with its wings, Taillow flew out of the way and dashed up towards the net Riolu was trapped in, cutting it up into bits in the process and freeing Riolu, who stood up and looked down to see Ash and May running.

"Riolu, jump! Ash and I will catch you!" May called. Riolu nodded before leaping off Crobat's back, who could only stare in alarm. As Riolu plummeted down to the ground, he was met with a surprise as Taillow flew underneath, enabling him to land on his back instead. "(Thank you for the catch.)" Riolu commented, showing a smile as Taillow turned his head to face the little Pokemon.

"(Not a problem. It's just a good thing you're okay.)" Taillow replied, showing a smile on his beak. He then flew down to Ash and May, who stopped running as the two Pokemon arrived down on the ground safely. As Taillow touched down on the grass, Riolu jumped off his back and ran over to Ash before jumping into his arms.

"Hey, Riolu! We're glad to see you're alright too." Ash commented, as he and May looked at him with matching bright smiles. After a few seconds, Riolu let go of Ash showing a big smile, the first he had ever shown in a while. "(How were you able to find me?)" Riolu asked.

"May got an idea for me to use our Aura connection to figure out where you were. So if you should thank anyone for the help, thank May." Ash replied, turning his glance to May who looked down with a shy smile and she started to rub her arm. Riolu then turned his head to May, showing a grateful smile. "(Thank you so much. Had it not been for your idea, I don't know how you would have been able to find me.)" Riolu said.

May could feel her cheeks go red from embarrassment. "Oh, it was nothing. If I'm being honest, I wouldn't sure myself what would happen..." she nervously replied. Just then, the group looked up to see Crobat coming down towards them, aiming towards Riolu as it wanted to get it back for the two men. "Look out!" May warned. With this, she and the others quickly rushed out of the way as Crobat flew past before turning around to face them.

"We're not going to let you get Riolu again! Ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning his head to Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. Pikachu nodded, showing an expression of determination, and jumped off Ash's shoulder and landed on the grass ready to face Crobat. As May was watching, she grabbed out her Pokedex and typed Crobat's name in so she could see what type the Pokemon she was facing was.

"All right, let's have a look... So Crobat is part Poison type... Then I know just who to use!" May commented to herself, nodding as she showed a bright smile. With this, she placed her Pokedex back in her bag and then grabbed one of her Pokeballs from her belt. "Let's go, Ralts!" May called, as she threw the Pokeball which opened and released Ralts, who landed on the grass beside Pikachu, with both Pokemon ready to take on Crobat to protect Riolu.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called, ready to start the battle. With this, Pikachu charged forward and slammed into Crobat, sending it flying back a few metres before it started to fly back towards them.

"Okay, Ralts, use Confusion!" May said. Riolu sent out purple psychic waves which flew towards Crobat, but Crobat flew straight out of the way and started to flap its wings rapidly, which blew Ralts away and she landed into May's arms and the two were sent toppling over onto the grass, to which Ash and Pikachu turned their heads to see.

"Are you alright, May?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. May sat up and shook her head rapidly before looking up and showed a bright smile while nodding. "Yeah, I'm okay." May replied. Ash showed a smile of relief at this and then turned his glance back to Crobat as May stood up.

"That Crobat is really strong. We're going to need to work together if we want to defeat it." Ash commented, turning his head to May. May nodded in agreement, and then Riolu jumped out of her arms and ran over to stand beside Pikachu again. Ash then turned his head to Riolu, who was watching this all the while. "Riolu, do you think you could help us out? I know your arm is still hurt while you were finding your way here, but we'll need all the help we can get right now. What do you say?" Ash asked. Riolu was silent for a few seconds before he showed an expression of determination and nodded, before walking over to stand with Pikachu and Ralts, ready to take Crobat down. As Crobat started to lunge towards the group, they were ready for action.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. "And Ralts, use Confusion!" May added. With this, the three Pokemon were ready to attack: Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity, Ralts sent out small purple psychic waves and Riolu charged up a small blue ball of energy in its paws before releasing it, with the three attacks hitting Crobat at once and sending it dropping out of the sky and landing on the grass, knocked out. Upon seeing this, Ash and May showed matching bright smiles at their victory.

"Yeah, we did it!" Ash cheered. "Great job, everyone!" May added. The three Pokemon turned to each other and all showed big smiles at each other. Pikachu leapt up into the air with one paw up, while Ralts turned her head to Riolu and threw her little arms around him in a hug, to which the latter stared at her in surprise. After a few seconds, Ralts opened her eyes and let go of Riolu after realising what she was doing.

"(I'm sorry, Riolu. I don't know whether or not I was thinking before doing that.)" Ralts nervously said, looking down in uncertainty as she wondered what Riolu was going to say about this. Riolu stared at her in silence for a few seconds before he showed a bright smile and held her in his arms in a hug. "(It's okay, Ralts. And I want to thank you for all of your help; I don't think this would have been possible without you to help me see that your friends were trustworthy.)" Riolu explained. Ralts stared in silence before she showed a bright smile seeing that Riolu wasn't upset by this, and then she returned his embrace as she wrapped her arms around him.

While that was happening, Crobat slowly lifted its head up as it was recovering and started to fly away rapidly as Ash and May watched in silence. "So, what do you think those men will do when they see that Riolu escaped again?" May asked, showing an expression of concern.

"I'll bet they'll probably try to come looking for Riolu again. But don't worry, May. We won't let them find Riolu; we'll make sure that Riolu is safe with us." Ash replied, turning to May and showing a confident smile. He then turned to Pikachu who climbed back up onto his shoulder and asked "Right, Pikachu?"

"(That's right!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a big smile. May was silent seeing how confident Ash was that they would be able to stop those men if they came back, before she showed a bright smile and nodded; she had a feeling that Ash would be right about that. The two then turned their heads down to Riolu, who was still with Ralts.

"Hey, Riolu?" Ash asked. Riolu turned his head to Ash, wondering what was up. "I wanted to ask you about this earlier, but then all of this happened. Would you like to be part of my team? You'll be safe with me and you'll be able to help me out with battling. And don't worry; we'll help you get back home at the same time. What do you think?" Ash suggested, showing a bright smile while he was talking.

Riolu was silent to think for a few seconds before he nodded with a bright smile. "That's great! You're now part of my team, Riolu!" Ash happily commented. Riolu started to happily jump up and down with a big smile; he was thrilled to be part of Ash's team as well. Once that was dealt with, Ash and May continued their way through the woods.

"Hey, Ash?" May asked, as there was something she remembered just now. Ash turned his glance to May, wondering what was up. "Where do you think Brock and Misty are? I'm sure they're probably looking for us right now, and they might be worried." May said, showing an expression of concern.

Ash looked down to think for a few moments before he showed a confident smile. "Don't you worry, May. I'm sure we'll be able to find them if we keep going." Ash commented. May showed a bright smile and nodded; she knew that Ash would be right about that. With this, the two were ready to keep going through Petalburg Woods and find Brock and Misty in the process.

In another part of the forest, nightfall had come and the Rocket Trio were making their way after the madness they had experienced. "Man, we decide to actually start a life and then all of this happens. And I'm wondering if this is all going to pay off." Meowth sighed as the three were slowly walking through the forest.

"Don't you two worry about a thing. When we get to Rustboro, we'll be sure to find the twerps and ask them for their help." Jessie said, showing a smile of confidence while she was talking. "That is, assuming they don't mistake it for another trap to catch Pikachu." James commented, looking down at the ground with an expression of worry, wondering if this idea would be a success.

Just then, a strong blast of wind started to blow in their direction. "What could that be now?" Jessie asked, showing an expression of annoyance. The three then turned their heads up to see the aircrafts they had spotted earlier coming in their direction. "Isn't that...?" Jessie asked, as she and the others stared up in alarm.

"I'll take a guess that those three have Project RX-1 in their possession! We have to get it back through any means necessary." The brown haired man said, as he and his partner looked down from their aircrafts to see the Rocket Trio on the ground; since they hadn't seen Riolu, they suspected the Rocket Trio had something to do with Riolu's disappearance.

"They think we're the ones who took Riolu?" James asked, as the Rocket Trio turned to look at each other in alarm. "Let's scram!" Meowth blurted, jumping up in panic. With that, the Rocket Trio started to make a run for it as the aircrafts followed after them.

"So much for this plan going smoothly!" The Rocket Trio blurted in unison; it was clear to them that their plan wasn't going to turn the way they imagined it would.


	10. Deep in The Woods

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 10: Deep in The Woods**

As sunlight broke in Petalburg Woods, Ash and May were walking side by side down the path to try and find where Brock and Misty were; they had gotten separated when Ash and May were helping Riolu escape his captors and now they were trying to find where their other two travelling partners were. "Brock? Misty? Where are you guys?" Ash asked as he and May were darting their glances back and forth at their surroundings and calling out to Brock and Misty; they had been doing this for a while now, but they hadn't had much success as they had gotten no response. "I don't think they can hear me... May, can you see them on the PokeNav?" Ash asked, turning his head to May. May opened her bag up and grabbed out the PokeNav before pressing the blue button to flip the screen open to show the map, but all she could see on it was a large patch of dark green, and no sign of their other two travelling partners. May stared at the screen for a few seconds before she let out a sigh of dismay and turned her head to Ash.

"I'm not having any luck either. And I don't think I even know where we are. I think we might be lost..." May replied, showing an expression of worry as she turned her glance at the forest around them; it was so large that she had no idea of how far they were or if she could get any bearings on their surroundings. Ash showed an expression of concern noticing May's worry; even though he was feeling just as confused as she was, he didn't want her to feel like they wouldn't be able to find their way around the forest.

"Hey, don't worry about it, May. I've gotten lost plenty of times while I was travelling with Brock and Misty, but we always managed to find our way in the end. I'm sure we'll be able to figure out where Brock and Misty are, and maybe even find a way out of these woods too." Ash explained, showing a reassuring smile while he was talking. Pikachu had his glance on Ash as he was listening to this, and then he showed a bright smile and nodded, knowing that Ash was right. May turned her head to Ash having heard this and, with a feeling that he was telling the truth about that, showed a bright smile and nodded.

"Yeah, I think you might be right. Thanks, Ash. You always seem to know just what to say to help me feel better when I'm down." May replied, her smile growing brighter at this last statement. Ash showed an expression of surprise at that comment; he didn't seem to notice that, since it was something he didn't pay attention to. But as long as he was able to help May, that was all that mattered to him. With that, he showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. So the two turned and continued their walk down the path, being side by side in the process.

As the two were walking, having a look around at their surroundings, they stopped when they noticed something: there was a fork in the road leading two different ways. "Which way should we go?" Ash asked as he and May looked at the two different paths, wondering which one they should choose. May turned her glance back and forth at each road as she was trying to think, before she pointed to the left.

"Why don't we try this way?" she suggested. Ash looked at her and showed an expression of uncertainty, wondering if she knew where they were going. "Hey, we don't have to worry! After all, you said that you had always found your way when you got lost, right? I'm sure that we'll have an idea of where we are if we head this way." May cheerfully commented, showing a confident smile. Ash stared in silence for a few seconds before he simply nodded.

"All right then, let's give this route a try." Ash replied. May showed a bright smile hearing that Ash agreed with her suggestion, so with this, the two started to walk along the path and May showed a smile of awe seeing that along the sides of the path, there was were several kinds of flowers blooming through the grass.

"Wow... look at this! Isn't this beautiful? There's nothing dreamier than strolling through a path filled with such lovely flowers." May happily commented, showing a bright smile as she let out a content sigh. Ash showed a bright smile as he watched May, seeing how happy she was going down this route; he had a feeling that he made the right choice in deciding to listen to her seeing how happy she was to go down here.

As Pikachu was watching this, he turned his glance down to notice one flower in particular on the path: it was a small yellow daisy that looked like it had only started to bloom. He then turned his head to see Ash and May and showed a bright smile as an idea started to click in his head. With this, he jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran over to pick the flower off its stem before running back and jumping back on Ash's shoulder. Once that was done, Pikachu leaned over and started to poke the side of Ash's head. "(Ash!)" Pikachu said. Hearing this, Ash turned his head to Pikachu with an expression of surprise.

"Pikachu? What's up?" he asked. Pikachu then showed him the flower in his paw and then pointed to May, who was looking around at the flower patches with a bright smile. Ash then had a look at the flower Pikachu was holding before turning his glance up to his partner. "You want me to give this to May?" he asked. Pikachu nodded in agreement; that was indeed the case. He then handed the flower to Ash, who stared in silence before walking over to May.

As May was looking at the flower patches around her, she didn't notice that Ash was walking beside her. "Hey, May?" Ash asked. May turned her glance in surprise to see Ash and then showed a bright smile as she was wondering what was up. Ash then held up the little flower Pikachu had given him before showing it to May. "I guess... this is for you." Ash explained. May stared at the flower in silence before she showed a bright smile and took it from him to see for herself.

"Wow, Ash, it's lovely! Did you pick this out just for me?" May asked. Ash showed an expression of surprise, feeling uncertain of how to respond to that question, before he felt his head start to nod, apparently by itself. However, he didn't notice that Pikachu was standing on his bag from beside his head and was moving it up and down to get Ash to show that he was saying yes. May let out a giggle at this reply and she felt her cheeks start to glow red before she walked over to Ash and gave him a tight hug. "Oh, thanks, Ash. I love it." May happily commented. She then let go and started to rush off ahead, placing the flower behind her ear where she could see it, while Ash followed from behind to catch up with her. As this was happening, Pikachu watched a cheeky smile as he covered his mouth trying to restrain his giggling; he didn't want Ash to figure out what was really happening.

Soon the two arrived at the end of the path and looked around to find that where they were now seemed to look exactly the same as where they had been walking for the last few hours. "Uh... May, do you have any idea of where we are?" Ash asked, turning his head back and forth as he was wondering where they were now. May had a look around herself to find that she had absolutely no clue of where she had led herself and Ash.

"I have no idea where this is. Everything looks exactly the same out here. You don't think we're going around in circles, do you?" May asked, showing an expression of worry. Upon catching her words, May immediately let out a gasp of horror. "Oh no! What if we never find a way out?! What am I going to do? I don't want to be lost in these woods forever!" May cried. She then started to shake slightly in despair as she had no idea of what they should do now. Ash turned his head to notice this, and with a firm expression coming to his face, he walked over to May and placed both his hands on her shoulders.

"May, snap out of it!" Ash ordered. May nearly jumped from surprise at the firm tone in Ash's voice, and then she lifted his head up to see him staring down at her, and she saw that while the expression on his face was firm, the tone of his voice was one of care and concern. "I don't have any idea of where we are either, but I don't want you to start going into a panic attack about it. As I said earlier, I've gotten lost too, but I always managed to find a way to where I needed to go. So there's no reason for you to worry about it." Ash explained. May was silent as she listened to Ash, and then she looked down with an expression of shame showing on her face, realising that she was getting herself worked up over something she shouldn't have to worry about. With this, she then slowly looked back up at Ash.

"I know... I'm sorry, Ash. It's just that... everything out here looks so similar that it's hard for me to even figure out where we are. I've got you and my Pokemon here with me, but I only started to worry about what I would do out here. I know I should have more trust in you, but I only started to think about myself and got myself so worked up over something that shouldn't be a big deal. I'm sorry..." May quietly explained, as she was feeling very ashamed of herself. She was then met with a surprise as Ash showed a smile of understanding.

"It's alright. I don't blame you; I don't enjoy getting lost either. But don't worry. When we find Brock and Misty, I'm sure we'll find a way out of here as well." Ash replied. May was silent listening to this, and then she slowly a bright smile hearing that Ash wasn't upset at her for her little panic attack. Just then, a blur jumped through a tree from behind them, prompting Ash to stare with an expression of surprise, to which May looked at him in puzzlement.

"Ash, what's up?" she asked. "Look at that!" Ash replied, pointing up to the tree behind them. May turned around to see that there were little gecko-like Pokemon jumping on the branches, and one of them stopped to look down at the two; it had light green skin with a dark red coloured belly, bright yellow eyes with a black iris and a dark green tail that curled up at the end. Ash and May both stared at the Pokemon in silence before they showed matching bright smiles.

"It's a Treecko!" May happily noticed. "So this is where they live." Ash commented, grabbing out his Pokedex so he could see what Treecko's Pokedex entry said. "Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokemon. Treecko are able to climb smooth vertical walls and use their thick tails to attack opponents. Since Treecko build their nests in large trees, it is said that those trees will live a very long life." The Pokedex explained. While this was happening, a few more Treecko poked their heads out from behind the trees, one of which was hanging upside down on a tree, and they all looked down at Ash and May who were both staring at them in awe.

"Look at all of them, Ash! They're so cute. I'll bet this is their home." May commented, showing a bright smile as she looked at the numerous Treecko on the trees. Ash showed a big smile of excitement at this comment, and then he grabbed out an empty Pokeball while May turned to him in surprise.

"I've been wanting to catch a Treecko since I saw it at Professor Birch's lab, and now's my chance to do just that." Ash said. With this, he threw the Pokeball at the first Treecko they spotted, but as soon as it got close, the Treecko smacked it back with its tail. "Hey! How come it didn't work?" Ash asked, showing an expression of annoyance. Pikachu stared at him for a few seconds with an expression of disbelief on his face before placing his head into one of his paws and slowly shaking his head; he had to wonder how Ash could forget one of the most important parts of catching a Pokemon. May seemed to take notice as well because she stared at Ash with a blank expression.

"I thought you had to battle the Pokemon first before you try to capture them. Isn't that what you told me?" May asked with a matter-of-factly tone in her voice. Ash nearly stiffened up hearing this as he showed an expression of surprise upon realising that he completely forgot about that in his excitement, and then he turned around to May with an expression of annoyance.

"I knew that, May! I was trying to make a demonstration on how not to catch a Pokemon!" Ash retorted. May nearly jumped from this outburst, but then she showed a cheeky smile and crossed her arms. "Well, if that's the case, then it sounds like you succeeded in spades, Pokemon Master." May cheekily commented, winking at Ash as an effort to try and tease him. While that was happening, the two looked up to see that the Treecko was making its way further up the tree branch to leave, as it then jumped off into the forest beside it.

"Treecko, wait!" Ash called before he started to run after Treecko. May stared in shock for a few seconds before she gave pursuit after him. "Ash, wait for me! I don't want to get lost!" May called, as she was trying to catch up with Ash so they wouldn't get separated.

As that was happening, Ash was rushing down the path with Pikachu running beside him as he was trying to find where Treecko went. "All right, where did you go, Treecko?" Ash asked, turning his glance back and forth to see if he could find Treecko. As he turned his head back to the path ahead of him, he looked up to notice that just up ahead, there was a tree that looked significantly taller than all of the trees in the woods; it looked like it was nearly touching the sky. As Ash stared up at the large tree in awe, he didn't notice that he was running towards a large root on the path in front of him, and before he had a chance to respond, he tripped on the root and was sent sliding down the cliff face while Pikachu watched in alarm. "(Ash!)" Pikachu called. May had been running over to catch up and she stopped when she saw the root in front of her, and then she looked down in shock to see Ash sliding down the cliff.

Back with Ash, he slid all the way down the cliff face before he landed at the bottom, slamming into a bush that was there. He then slowly reached up to the edge and pulled himself up, with leaves from the bush stuck all over him. He then looked up with an expression of awe to see just how large the tree was; its roots were spreading out on the ground around him, it looked like it was in a spiral pattern, there were several barren branches scattered all over it from top to bottom and it looked like it would be tall enough to touch the sky. Sufficed to say, it was unlike anything Ash had ever seen. "It's huge!" Ash exclaimed, showing a smile of awe. While he was staring up at the tree, he turned his head to see that Pikachu had arrived down at the bottom, with an expression of concern on his face as he was wondering if Ash was okay.

"Hey, Ash!" Ash turned his head to see May standing at the top of the cliff face, waving to him as she had witnessed his tumble. "Are you alright down there?" May asked, as she jumped off the cliff face and slid down so she could catch up with Ash, showing an expression of concern as she wanted to be sure that he was okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine, May. Look at this!" Ash replied, pointing to the tree just in front of them. May turned her glance to the tree with an expression of surprise, and that surprise quickly changed into awe when she saw just how large the tree was compared to her; she felt very small just looking at it. "I know. It's pretty big, huh? It seems almost magical too." Ash commented, showing a bright smile upon seeing May's awe. May slowly nodded in agreement with a big smile on her face, but then her smile quickly faded and an expression of worry started to show on her face.

"But... look at it. There aren't any leaves on the branches, and it looks really old and withered." May said. Ash had a closer look with her and then he showed an expression of worry seeing that she was right. "Yeah, now that you mention it, I think you're right..." Ash quietly agreed, while Pikachu slowly nodded in agreement; he could tell that the tree didn't seem to be in very good condition as well.

Just then, a small stick landed on the ground in front of the two, sticking up in the air, and Ash and May turned their heads up to spot the one responsible for the toss: it was Treecko, sitting on a tree branch above the two's heads, with a twig in its hand, and showing a confident smirk as it placed the twig in its mouth. Ash and May then climbed up from the small cliff face and stood up, turning their glances up to Treecko with matching expressions of determination. "Hey, cut that out! Why don't you come down and we'll have a battle?" Ash called. With this, Treecko stood up on the tree branch and started leaping between tree branches rapidly while Ash, May and Pikachu watched in awe.

"Wow, that Treecko's really fast!" May commented. Ash simply nodded in agreement, as he shared the same thought as her. As Treecko leapt off a different branch, it then shot the twig it had from its mouth towards Pikachu on the ground, who promptly jumped out of the way as the twig stuck out on the ground he had been standing at. As Pikachu landed safely, Treecko landed on the ground just behind him, which Pikachu turned around to notice, but before he had a chance to respond, Treecko slammed into him with its tail, which sent Pikachu flying backwards and slamming into the tree with his back.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped as he and May stared in shock. Pikachu then slid down from the tree onto the ground, but then jumped up onto his feet again feeling ready for more. Treecko then motioned for Pikachu to come towards it again with its finger, seemingly taunting him at the same time. With this, Pikachu started to run towards Treecko, but Treecko quickly jumped out of the way as Pikachu was trying to give pursuit, and then slammed its tail against Pikachu, which sent him getting knocked backwards, but then Pikachu jumped up onto his feet again, still feeling ready for more battling against Treecko. "(Come on, bring it on!)" Pikachu called.

While this was happening, up at the top of the cliff in the forest, the Rocket Trio were there; they were feeling very worn out after having to make a run for it the other night from the Pokemon Hunters. Once they were sure that they had lost them, the Rocket Trio were now slowly walking, trying to catch their breath after their all night run. "Do you think... we finally... lost those men?" Jessie asked, struggling to speak in her exhaustion as she turned her head to her other two comrades who were slowly trailing behind her.

"I don't know, Jessie. I've been so focused on running away, I didn't remember to check behind us." James replied, shaking his head in response. Meowth then noticed one of the trees beside him and then turned his head to the others, as he had an idea.

"You guys wait here. I'm going to go have a look out to see if I can spot them." Meowth said. While Jessie and James watched, Meowth climbed up to the top of the tree and poked his head out from the top underneath the leaves and scanned the surrounding sky for any sign of the Pokemon Hunters. But there was no visible sign of them anywhere, so Meowth poked his head down with a bright smile while the other two were waiting for him. "We're all in the clear, fellas. They must have given up and left." Meowth stated. Hearing this, Jessie and James both let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground so they could catch their breath for a few moments.

"That leaves us with one less thing to worry about." James commented. "Now we just need to find where the twerps are so we can ask them for their help on turning ourselves around." Jessie agreed, showing a bright smile; now that they didn't have to worry about being pursued, that meant they could focus on finding where Ash and the others were. James then showed an expression of worry as he noticed the one flaw in Jessie's suggestion.

"But how are we supposed to find them in a forest as big as this? That could take us days, at the very least." James said. Jessie was silent for a few moments as James pointed that out, and then she showed an expression of concern upon realizing that he was right. "Oh, that's right... I didn't stop to think about that..." Jessie commented to herself. As she was thinking about how to take care of that issue, that was when the sound of a Pokemon cry reached the Rocket Trio's ears and they turned their heads in surprise.

"Hey, did you two hear that?" Jessie asked. "Yeah; it sounded like it was coming from that way." Meowth replied, pointing to the route just ahead of them. With this, the Rocket Trio jumped up on their feet and started to run towards the direction they heard the Pokemon cry from. Soon, the three found themselves standing at the edge of a small cliff that led down and started to look around in puzzlement.

"Well, now where are we?" Jessie asked. "Do you think maybe we went the wrong way?" James asked, showing an expression of concern. While the two of them were trying to figure out where they were now, Meowth looked up in surprise and then his eyes went large in awe as an amazing sight caught his attention.

"Hey, fellas, check that out!" Meowth said, pointing forward. Jessie and James both turned their heads to see what it was that caught Meowth's attention and they were left staring in stunned silence; there in front of them was a large tree that was so tall, it seemed to be nearly touching the sky. It also had several branches stretching out from top to bottom and seemed to have a spiral pattern in its growth. "Wow... would you two look at that?" Meowth asked.

"I've never seen a tree this big." James commented. As Jessie was starting up at the tree in silence, she turned her glance down to notice something and then a big smile immediately showed on her face. "Hey, you two, look down there!" Jessie said, turning to the other two and pointing down towards near the roots of the tree. James and Meowth both looked down with her to see what was up and they noticed that just at the bottom where the tree was... were Ash and May, watching the battle between Pikachu and Treecko. "It's those two; we actually found them!" Jessie happily commented, while James and Meowth showed matching bright smiles at this.

"Isn't that a lucky find!" Meowth cheerfully commented. "I knew that old saying was true: ask and you will receive." James added. Seeing that their search wasn't as fruitless as they were expecting it to be, the Rocket Trio all turned their heads to each other.

"Come on, you two! There's no time to waste." Jessie stated. James and Meowth promptly nodded in agreement; if there was any chance to ask Ash and May for their help, it had to be now. But just as they were about to make their way down to the tree, that was when they noticed something: there was a small pack of Treecko having arrived at the scene where Ash, May, Pikachu and the Treecko they had been battling against were. "We can't let them spot us. Let's hide!" Jessie quickly said, turning to James and Meowth. With this, the Rocket Trio ducked down behind a bush and poked their heads up so they could watch what was going on.

Down at the bottom with Ash and May, the two were looking down at Pikachu as he was sitting up from the battle against Treecko. "Are you okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked, as he and May showed matching expressions of concern, wondering if Pikachu was alright. Sure enough, Pikachu turned his head to the two and nodded with a bright smile, to which Ash and May showed matching smiles of relief. "That Treecko sure put up a good fight." Ash commented, showing a confident smile, to which Pikachu happily nodded in agreement. While that was happening, May looked up to notice the pack of Treecko that had arrived during the battle and saw that one of them was walking over to the Treecko Ash had been battling; from the looks of the wrinkles on its face, it seemed to be the leader.

"Hey, Ash, look!" May said, pointing to the site. Ash turned his glance to see what was up and an expression of surprise crossed his face when he noticed the group of Treecko. "Wonder if there's a problem..." Ash commented, as he and May looked at each other in surprise, wondering what the situation could be. The two then turned their heads back to the Treecko to watch and find out what was going on. As they watched, they could see the elder Treecko try to reason with their Treecko about something, only for it to shake its head in denial and then shove the elder Treecko backwards. As the elder Treecko fell over on the ground, two of the Treecko behind it yelled out in rebellion, only for the elder Treecko to lift its paw up like it was saying that it could handle this situation. As Treecko glared at the elder Treecko with a twig in its mouth, Ash and May both looked at each other in surprise, wondering what could be happening. "That's strange; it seems like it doesn't get along with the other Treecko." Ash commented.

"Yeah; it sounds like they're arguing about something." May agreed, slowly nodding. But then she showed an expression of puzzlement as she wondered "But what do you think it could be about?"

From their hiding place in the bushes, the Rocket Trio could hear the argument taking place. "It sounds like they're having a dispute." James commented, turning his glance to Jessie and Meowth. Jessie turned her glance to him hearing this and then looked down at Meowth; since he was the expert at understanding Pokemon, she figured he could figure out what was going on. "Meowth, could you translate for us?" she asked. Meowth showed a bright smile and promptly nodded. "Sure thing; count on me!" he replied. With this, he climbed out from behind the bush and leaned an ear forward so he could have a closer listen to the argument and understand what the Treecko were saying.

Down at the tree roots, the elder Treecko seemed to say something as it turned its head to the tree and then looked back at the Treecko it was trying to reason with. While that was happening, Meowth showed a bright smile as he could understand this. "Ooh! It's saying 'What do you think that you're doing? This tree is withering. It's only chance that you should go live in another tree, because if you stay here, it will be completely withered and you'll be ruined'." Meowth explained. Jessie and James nodded in understanding, wanting to hear the rest of what was happening. They could then see Treecko snap at the elder, pointing up to the tree while it was talking. "It's too soon to write off this tree; I was born in those branches and they've always been my shelter. Now it's my turn to protect this tree; whatever happens to it, I'll stay with it until the end!" Meowth continued translating, with tears filling in his eyes as he finished that last statement. James had been listening intently all the while, and he could feel his eyes fill with tears alongside Meowth, and then the two burst into tears while Jessie stared at them in disbelief.

"Treecko; so much heroism and pride!" Meowth cried. "A weaker person would be moved to tears by that story!" James agreed, as the two of them had waterfalls of tears flooding from their eyes. Jessie stared at the two in silence for a few moments before she shook her head. "That's not heroic!" Jessie retorted. James and Meowth both stared at her, wondering what she was talking about.

"Life's all about exchanging old things for new, especially when it comes to homes!" Jessie commented, showing a bright smile. James and Meowth were both silent as they stared at each other in disbelief, before they looked back at Jessie. "It is?" James asked. "Are you sure about that, Jess?" Meowth asked. Jessie then showed an expression of annoyance at the two's obliviousness; it was hard for her to believe that they didn't understand a concept like this.

"Yes, I'm sure! You should always strive for something new, because without change, there's no progress and progress is the future. So living in a rotten old dried-up tree..." Jessie then turned away with her arms. "...is not exactly my idea of progress." James and Meowth then both poked their heads up to notice something.

"I think the Treecko are leaving." James commented, pointing at the site. Jessie turned her head to see what was going on and noticed that sure enough, the elder Treecko was turning to leave with the rest of the Treecko pack following right behind it. "So... what do we do now?" James asked, showing an expression of puzzlement.

"What do you two think? We're going to put that old tree out of its misery and cut it down while we've got a chance!" Jessie replied, showing a bright smile. James and Meowth both stared at her in alarm before they both grabbed her arms and pulled her down before she could have a chance to move. "Hey! What do you two think you're doing?" Jessie snapped, glaring at the two in annoyance.

"Hold on there, Jess. I usually would be the first advocate for any plan of yours, but this is going too far! That's a Pokemon's home you're talking about here!" Meowth explained. "Meowth's right. Don't you remember what we talked about yesterday? You said we were going to start turning over a new leaf and that means we'll have to earn our new reputation. And I don't think this is the right way to do it." James agreed; normally, the thought of standing up to Jessie was usually the last thing on his mind, as he was aware of what kind of temper she had, but this was something he wasn't going to stand for. Jessie could only stare at the two in silence for a few moments before she let out a sigh as she realised that they were right; if they were going to start turning themselves around, that meant she had to start coming up with ideas outside of their comfort zone, whether she liked it or not.

"I guess you two are right. We'll have to stay here and watch to see what happens." Jessie commented. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement with that idea, so with this, the Rocket Trio poked their heads out from the bush so they could observe the scene.

Back with Ash and May, they and Treecko watched as the Treecko pack walked away. As Ash and May were staring in silence, Treecko turned its head up to look at the large tree; this was its home for as long as it could remember. After a few seconds, Treecko showed a smile and started to climb up the tree while Ash and May watched in surprise. "Treecko!" Ash called. Treecko didn't take any notice of Ash, though, as it ran across a branch before leaping off and landed on the cliff face which led back into the forest before rushing off while Ash stared up in shock. "Treecko, wait! Don't run off!" Ash called. However, Treecko had already gone off too far ahead to hear Ash, which left him and May watching on in silence.

"What do you think Treecko could be doing?" May asked, showing an expression of puzzlement as she and Ash looked at each other. "(Ash! May!)" Hearing another voice from behind them, Ash and May turned their heads to see Pikachu, and he was up on a high tree branch waving out to them. Ash stared in silence for a few moments before a bright smile crossed his face as he understood.

"Oh, I get it! Since Treecko lives in that tree, we should wait for it here." Ash commented. May showed a bright smile as that seemed to make sense to her, and then she and Ash turned their heads up to the direction Treecko had rushed off in. "Treecko, you'd better watch out because I'm going to catch you!" Ash said, showing a confident smile; he was sure that he was going to succeed in catching Treecko.

Meanwhile with Brock and Misty, the two were sitting at a small area in the woods; they were having a break from their search. Brock had set up a small fireplace and was cooking little biscuits on a frying pan, while Misty and their Pokemon were cheerfully munching away. "Wow, Brock, these biscuits are delicious! You really are an expert with cooking." Misty happily commented, showing a bright smile. She then looked down at Togepi, who was munching on one of the biscuits as well and let out a happy chirp as she was enjoying it. "I think Togepi agrees with me too." Misty said.

"Thanks, Misty." Brock replied, showing a smile at the compliment. Misty then showed an expression of concern and turned her glance out to the forest while Brock watched her in surprise. "Where do you think Ash and May could be? I hope those two haven't gotten themselves hurt, or that those men we saw aren't still after them." Misty said; she was feeling a bit worried that something might have happened to Ash and May while they were separated from her and Brock. Brock stared in silence before he showed a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, Misty. Ash and May went off together, right? So I'm sure they'll be alright as long as they stick together. Plus, they've also got their Pokemon so I'll bet they're both okay. We can keep looking for them after we've finished eating." Brock explained. Misty was silent while she listening to this, and then she showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like a good idea to me." Misty agreed. With this, she then resumed munching on her biscuits, feeling a lot more reassured that wherever Ash and May were in this forest, they were both safe.

Back with Ash and May, the two were sitting up on a tree branch together watching the sun set in the evening sky, with the sky having turned a bright orange colour. "Wow, doesn't the sunset look amazing from up here?" May asked, showing a smile of awe. Ash turned his glance to May seeing her bright smile and then simply nodded; he was glad to see that she was enjoying herself. May then showed an expression of concern having just realised something. "Hey, Ash?" May asked. Ash turned his glance to May, wondering what was up. "How do you think Brock and Misty are doing? I hope they aren't too worried about where we are, considering how long we've been separated from them. I hope those men haven't been looking for them..." May said, showing an expression of worry, as she didn't want to think about anything serious happening to Brock and Misty while they were looking for her and Ash. Ash could see May's concern, and then he showed a comforting smile and placed a hand on May's shoulder, prompting her to turn her glance to him.

"Don't worry, May. I'm sure Brock and Misty are alright. You should remember that they're very strong and they can take care of themselves. And I'm sure that wherever they are in the forest, they're out looking for us." Ash explained. Pikachu nodded in agreement with a big smile; he knew Brock and Misty well enough to know that. May slowly showed a bright smile and nodded, so she turned her glance back to the evening sky, and then she scooted over so she could sit closer next to Ash, something that he noticed, but he figured not to bother May, so he looked back at the sky as well. As the two watched the sunset, they could see a few black crow-like Pokemon fly through the evening sky.

"What are those?" May asked, pointing out to the crow Pokemon as they flew past. "Those are Murkrow." Ash replied. As he watched the Murkrow, Ash immediately showed a bright smile as he had an idea. "I know! I'll use Taillow." With this, Ash grabbed out one of his Pokeballs and threw it, which opened and released Taillow.

"Taillow, I need you to find Brock and Misty and bring them here while we wait for Treecko." Ash explained. Taillow nodded in understanding and then jumped up into the air, flapping his wings rapidly as he set off to find Brock and Misty. "Thanks, Taillow!" May called, waving as Taillow flew off. Once he was gone, Ash turned his glance to May while Pikachu watched in silence.

"Uh... May?" Ash asked. May turned her head to Ash, wondering what he had to say. "I'm not sure if this would be a bad time to ask you this, but... what did you want to say to me earlier?" Ash asked. May showed an expression of puzzlement at this question, as she was wondering what Ash meant.

"Wha... What are you talking about?" May asked. "Remember when we watched the Bellossom dancing?" Ash asked in response. May simply nodded in agreement, wondering where Ash was getting at with this, but she could remember exactly what he meant. "You said that you had something you wanted to say to me. What was it, exactly?" Ash questioned, showing an expression of confusion as he was wondering what May wanted to tell him back then.

"Oh... well, about that..." May slowly started, and then she let out a sigh knowing that she had been backed into a corner; she had a feeling that if she didn't tell Ash now, he wouldn't leave her alone about it. But she wasn't entirely of whether or not he had been wondering about it since he heard it from her last time, so she had a feeling she would be on the safe side for now. But at the moment, she felt like she didn't have a choice right now; she had to speak up. "Ash, there's something that I want to tell you; it's about something I've felt since we were in Petalburg City. I wanted to wait until we got to Rustboro City, but I guess I have to say it now." May explained. Ash showed a smile of understanding and placed an arm around her.

"It's alright, May. Whatever it is you have to say, you can just tell me. I'm listening." Ash replied. May turned her glance up to see Ash's smile and then she couldn't help herself smiling back and she could feel her cheeks start to glow red; to her, that felt like all the support she needed to be able to finally say this. With that, she then nodded and sat up with Ash giving her his full attention. While this was happening, Pikachu suddenly felt his ears twitch and he looked down to notice something.

"Okay then, I'll tell you. Ash, I..." Before May could have a chance to continue, she and Ash turned their heads to see Pikachu pointing down at the ground. "(Ash, May, look at this!)" Pikachu said. Ash and May both poked their heads down to see what was up, and noticed Treecko had arrived back dragging a large leaf filled with water behind it.

"Looks like your idea worked, Pikachu. Treecko's back!" Ash said, showing a bright smile. May looked down with a bright smile, but then an expression of puzzlement crossed her face when she noticed something. "But... what's it doing carrying that large leaf?" she asked. As the two looked down, they could see Treecko pour out a small amount of water onto the roots of the tree, and waiting for a few seconds for the roots to absorb the water before placing a bush of brown leaves on the wet spot, and then looked up at the tree with a smile before rolling the leaf up and walking off, carrying the leaf behind its back. Ash and May stared in silence before looking at each other in amazement.

"Look at that: Treecko's doing everything it can to help this tree." May commented, as the two turned their glance to each other. Ash slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right." he replied. They then looked up at the tree realising the same thing: this was Treecko's home.

As night fell, Ash and May could see Treecko return with the leaf filled with water to pour onto the roots. As the two watched Treecko place another bush where it placed the water to drain into the roots, they both looked at each other seeing how devoted Treecko was to protecting its home, and after a few seconds, they showed matching expressions of determination and nodded, having the same idea: they wanted to help Treecko as well. With this, the two started to climb down the branches to get to the ground so they could help as well.

While that was happening, the Rocket Trio were up in their hiding place in the bush having been watching this all the while, James and Meowth with expressions of awe and Jessie glaring in annoyance. "Look at that. Can't you tell how much Treecko wants its home to be safe?" Meowth asked, as he and James felt tears building in their eyes watching this display. "I know I can tell." James replied, nodding while he was talking. Jessie could only show an expression of annoyance before she turned her glance to James and Meowth.

"Come on, you two! Couldn't we just get this over with? Why is this even such a big deal?" Jessie asked, crossing her arms and turning her glance away. James and Meowth both stared at her in disbelief, wondering how she couldn't figure out why this was so important to Treecko. "Didn't you hear what Treecko said earlier? That tree is its home and Treecko said it will stay with the tree until the end of its life!" Meowth retorted. Jessie slowly opened an eye with an expression of surprise hearing this, and then she slowly turned her head to listen to what they had to say.

"Meowth's right. I know life's about exchanging old for new, but sometimes the old are things we couldn't bear to live without, and that's especially true when it comes to homes." James agreed. Jessie's eyes immediately popped open upon hearing this and then she turned her head to James, wondering what she was talking about. Elsewhere, the Treecko pack were coming back to find Treecko and they stopped to listen to this conversation. "I know it's something we seem to take for granted, but home is something that matters a lot to people: it's a place of security, a place to find people who care for you, but most importantly, it's a place of memories." James continued.

The Treecko pack all turned their heads to each other listening to this, all of them blinking in surprise, especially at the part about memories, because they knew how true that was. "Those memories are something we all hold dear to us, whether we realise it or not. And nowhere is that truer than with a place we call home, and that's exactly what's happening with Treecko too." James said, turning his glance down to Treecko, while Jessie and Meowth looked down with him to see Treecko placing a bush beside another wet patch where the roots were. James then turned his head back to Jessie so he could continue. "Jessie, really think about it for a second. If we were in Treecko's place, don't you think we would do the same thing? Wouldn't we want to protect our home and always stay by it, no matter what happens?" James asked, with a sincere tone in his voice all the while. Jessie could only stare in shock having heard all of this, and then she turned her glance down as she felt tears building up in her eyes; it seemed that James's words managed to get through to her. After a few seconds, Jessie quickly brushed her tears away.

"Oh, James, you know just where to hit me!" Jessie snapped. James stared in worry for a few moments, wondering if that was a bad thing, but then he was met with a surprise when Jessie showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding. "Okay, I understand. Come on, you two; we have no time to waste." Jessie said, showing a confident smile; that was a sure sign that they were going to help too. Seeing this, James and Meowth showed matching bright smiles.

"Oh, Jessie! I knew you'd see the light!" James happily exclaimed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry down there!" Meowth stated. The Rocket Trio all nodded in agreement, and then jumped out from behind the tree and started to make their way down towards the other side of the tree so they wouldn't get spotted by Ash and May. Just after they had gone, the Treecko pack looked down to see this and then they all looked at each other, wondering if they had been too quick to make their judgement from earlier.

At the same time, Ash, May and Pikachu were setting another bush down, something that Treecko turned to notice, and then it immediately started to glare at them. "We don't want to battle, Treecko. We just want to help you save this tree." Ash explained. May turned her glance to Treecko and nodded in agreement. "That's right. We noticed how important this tree is to you, so we thought we'd help you out in any way we can." May agreed. Pikachu nodded as well, commenting "(That's right!)" With this, the three turned their attention back to setting their bush down. Treecko watched in silence with an expression of shock on its face, before it showed a grateful smile for their help and went back to setting its bush down.

A little later, as the four were walking back to the tree from carrying big leaves that were full of water and bush leaves, they were met with a surprise: there waiting for them in front of the tree's roots were the Treecko pack that came earlier. "Hey, isn't that the group of Treecko we met before?" May asked, staring in surprise.

"Yeah, I think so. Wonder why they came back here." Ash commented, while Pikachu tilted his head slightly in surprise as he was wondering the same thing as well. The elder Treecko stepped forward to talk to their Treecko; it seemed that the pack realised that they were wrong to write this tree off so quick, and that they wanted to help as well. Treecko then turned its head away with its arms crossed, as it still remembered what happened earlier in the day. The elder Treecko then walked over and started to place its tail against the other's, and Treecko was silent for a few moments before the two touched tails; they were willing to put their argument from earlier aside so they could work together to help the tree. Upon seeing this, the rest of the Treecko started to cheer while Ash and May watched with matching bright smiles. "Looks like they're all getting along again." Ash commented. May and Pikachu both nodded in agreement; that seemed to be the case to them as well.

Just then, a loud crack startled the group and they turned their heads to notice the source; it was coming from the tree as a long crack reached up from its roots until it got all the way up to the top of the tree and then, without warning, the tree split into two halves much to the shock of Ash, May, and the large Treecko group. "That's not good... the tree's splitting in half!" May gasped.

On the other side of the tree, the Rocket Trio took notice of this as well and they were all staring in shock at the sight. "What's happening?!" Jessie gasped. "I think the tree's breaking in two. If we stay here, we might get crushed!" James replied. "Well then, don't just stand there. Let's scram!" Meowth blurted. Wobbuffet suddenly popped out of his Pokeball blurting "Wobbuffet!", before the Rocket Trio quickly turned and made a run of it, as they didn't want to be around to have one of the halves drop down onto them.

Back with Ash and the others, they were all left in shock at the sight. Without a moment to spare, with the elder Treecko leading the charge, the large Treecko pack ran over and started to push against the halves trying to stop the tree from breaking apart. As this was happening, May showed an expression of worry, wondering what they could do, while Ash had an idea. "I know! I have a rope in my bag." Ash said. With this, he grabbed his bag off his back and placed it on the ground before opening it up to grab the rope out. As May turned her head to notice him, she then looked down to think of what she could do.

'_I know I could give some help as well, but what can I do? I didn't come nearly as prepared as Ash did.' _May thought to herself. But then she quickly looked up as an idea came to her head: she could use one of her Pokemon! But which of them would have a move that could be of assistance at a time like this? With that, May grabbed out her Pokedex and opened it up to look at each of her Pokemon's move sets. "Let's see... no luck with Torchic or Azurill, and I know Ralts might not be able to help much." May said to herself. But then a smile crossed her face when she came to Wurmple's: she saw that Wurmple's moves at the moment were Tackle and String Shot. "Yes! That's just the thing I was looking for." May cheered. With this, she placed her Pokedex back in her bag and then grabbed out one of her Pokeballs. "Let's go, Wurmple! Use String Shot!" May said as she threw the Pokeball, which opened and released Wurmple, who then shot out a long string of silk from her small mouth that latched onto one of the tree halves. Once that was placed, Wurmple started to pull on the silk, while May ran over to give a helping hand.

While all of this was happening, the sun slowly rose over the horizon with the sky turning bright blue, causing sunlight to shine through the split in the middle of the tree, while Ash, May and the Treecko watched in amazement. The light then intensified before they could see a small seed in the centre of the forest slowly open with a small plant poking up from the centre, which then slowly grew into a large tree with several branches that had a lot of leaves that became bushes, as well as lovely yellow flowers blooming. As the large group watched the display, Ash and May could only stare in awe. "Look at that... a new tree's been born right in front of our eyes." Ash said. "Wow... it's incredible..." May whispered, her eyes wide in awe.

However, the display wasn't finished just yet, as the flowers on the tree started to wilt before their petals slowly dropped off, with small seeds dropping off the buds and landing on the ground before sinking into the soil, which caused plants to grow from them as well and as the tree slowly grew bigger, smaller trees grew as well, turning the once barren area into a forest. Ash, May and the Treecko were all in awestruck; this was the life cycle of the tree that was breaking in half in front of their eyes. As the sunlight cleared, the tree halves then fell to the ground with a loud thud, and a small seed rolled out from the remains and stopped in front of Treecko's feet, and all that was left of the tree lay on the ground, collapsed. Ash and May then both walked over to Treecko as it was still staring in shock. "Hey, Treecko? I think that tree was trying to thank you for helping it." Ash said, while he and May looked up at the remains of the tree. May and Pikachu both nodded in agreement; that seemed to be the case to them as well. But just then, Treecko showed a glare at Ash and lunged forward before tackling him, much to May and the Treecko group's shock. As Ash was trying to recover from that tackle, May showed an expression of concern and bent down to him, placing her hands on his shoulders to help him up.

"Ash, are you okay?" she asked. Ash lifted his head up to May and nodded, prompting May to show a smile of relief, before the two turned their attention to Treecko with expressions of annoyance. "What did you hit me for?" Ash asked. Treecko turned its glance to the fallen tree for a few seconds before it showed a smile and then turned to Ash with an expression of determination; it was ready for a battle against him.

"Are you trying to tell me you're ready to battle?" Ash asked, staring in surprise at this. But then a bright smile came to his face and he showed an expression of determination before standing up. "All right then, let's go!" Ash stated, feeling ready to battle. While that was happening, May heard a squawk from nearby and turned her head to see that it was Taillow flying towards them, with Brock and Misty following right behind him. "Brock, look! There they are!" Misty said, pointing to where Ash and May were.

May showed a bright smile before she started to wave to them. "Guys, we're over here! You're just in time! Ash is about to have his battle with Treecko!" she called. As Brock and Misty caught up, the battle between Ash and Treecko was about to start.

"All right, Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity, and Treecko promptly jumped out of the way as the bolts simply hit the ground it had been standing at, before one bolt suddenly hit it. However, Treecko quickly broke out of it and leapt forward, feeling ready for more. At the same time, the others were watching the battle from behind.

"Look at how strong Treecko is, and how fast it can go!" May commented. "Yeah; it probably doesn't help that electric attacks aren't very effective against grass types." Misty agreed. Treecko started to give chase after Pikachu, who was already making a run for it and smacked him with his tail, knocking him back a bit, before proceeding to charge forward again.

"We've got to try something else, Pikachu. This isn't over yet. All right, now!" Ash called; he had an idea. With this, Pikachu charged forward towards Treecko, prompting the latter to jump up into the air, giving Ash his window of opportunity. "Now use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Without any hesitance, Pikachu released a strong bolt of electricity which hit Treecko directly, sending it dropping out of the air and landing on the ground, knocked out. The Treecko pack stared in shock while May showed a bright smile of awe at that strategy.

"Wow, did you see that? Ash's idea worked!" May cheered. "Of course! Grass Pokemon can usually diffuse electricity on the ground, but they can't do the same in mid air. I've got to say, that was actually pretty clever of Ash to try something like that." Misty commented, with a smile coming to her face as she understood how this made sense.

With Ash, he was staring in surprise that his idea actually proved to be a success, but then he remembered that he couldn't afford to waste any time, so he grabbed one of his empty Pokeballs from his bag. "Go, Pokeball!" Ash said before throwing the Pokeball, which hit Treecko and opened up before catching Treecko inside it, before closing and dropping onto the ground. The group watched as the Pokeball rapidly for a few seconds before stopping, which meant Treecko was securely inside. Ash showed a bright smile at this and picked up the Pokeball. "All right! I caught a Treecko!" Ash cheered, holding the Pokeball up in the air while Pikachu jumped up and let out a cheer of excitement at their success.

A little later, Treecko was let out from his Pokeball, as he was the new member of Ash's team. "Treecko, do you want to come and travel with us?" Ash asked. Treecko promptly nodded with a big smile; that sounded like a good idea to him. The elder Treecko then stepped forward and showed Treecko the seed that was left behind from the fallen tree; they wanted to plant it in the ground so a new tree would grow in its place. Treecko looked down at the seed before nodding in agreement; that sounded like a good idea to him.

Soon, the seed was placed into a small hole in the ground that Treecko dug up, and Treecko placed a small bush over the hole. That meant the seed was ready to start growing soon. Once that was taken care of, Ash and the others were ready to get going. "So long, everyone! Look after the tree!" Ash called, as he and the others turned to wave goodbye to the Treecko. The Treecko pack all started to wave goodbye to the group as they were ready to keep moving on their route towards Rustboro, with Treecko now alongside them. As Treecko looked down at the area that was once his home, he could see that the seed was already growing as a small plant; soon, it would grow into a tree that would make a new home for the pack.

Soon after that, Ash and the others were continuing their road through Petalburg Woods to get to Rustboro. As they were walking, Misty was showing an expression of concern as there was something she wanted to ask about. "Hey, May?" she asked. May turned her head to Misty with an expression of surprise, wondering what was up. "Were you and Ash alright while Brock and I were looking for you? I mean, we were separated for almost a full day. Were you guys okay?" Misty asked. May quickly showed a bright smile and nodded.

"Yeah, we were fine! There's nothing to worry about; those men we ran into before didn't find us at all." Ash agreed, showing a thumb up of support. Misty showed a smile of relief at this reply; that meant she had been worrying about nothing at all, but it also meant that Ash and May were both safe while they were separated. Just then, a rumble could be heard and everyone turned their heads to see that it was coming from Ash's stomach, to which he quickly showed a sheepish smile. "Uh.. sorry about that, guys. May and I didn't really have anything to eat while we were with the Treecko." Ash nervously explained. Misty simply shook her head while letting out a silent sigh to herself while May showed a smile of amusement. Luckily, Brock took notice of this as well.

"Well, that's a problem. We're coming near an open area, so who's up for stopping to have some lunch?" Brock suggested. The others quickly perked up at the mention of this, because they all had big smiles on their faces and they immediately nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Ash agreed. "What are we waiting for? Let's move!" May cheered, her eyes going big in excitement. "Leave it up to Brock to handle our meals; he knows just what to do!" Misty said, while Togepi let out a cheerful chirp from Misty's arms.

Sometime later, Ash, May and Misty all stood beside each other looking down with bright smiles. "Wow! That smells great!" The three happily commented in unison, with Pikachu nodding in agreement. They were watching as Brock was stirring a pot full of stew he had set up for lunch; they had been waiting for a good while now for it to be ready, and they couldn't wait for the finished result. Brock lifted up the ladle he was using to stir the stew to have a taste and then he looked up at the others with a bright smile on his face.

"Yep, it's ready. Let's eat, guys!" Brock said. Everyone promptly smiled in excitement at this and they started to grab out the Pokeballs containing their Pokemon so they could bring them all out for lunch: Ash had three, May and Misty had four and Brock only had one so far, through that didn't seem to be the issue for him.

"Okay, everyone, chow time!" May said, throwing her four Pokeballs up into the air. "Come on out, guys! It's lunch time!" Misty said, throwing her four Pokeballs up in the air just like May did.

"Forretress, come and get it!" Brock said, throwing out his one Pokeballs. "Guys, it's finally time to eat!" Ash said as he threw his Pokeballs out while Pikachu leapt off his shoulder, feeling just as excited for lunch as his friend was.

All of the Pokeballs in question opened up to release their Pokemon: first came May's consisting of Torchic, Azurill, Ralts and Wurmple, followed up by Misty's roster of Horsea, Starmie, Psyduck and Goldeen, then out came Forretress as he was the one Pokemon Brock currently had and last, but not least, there was Ash's team of Larvitar, Taillow, Riolu and Treecko. After a few seconds, all of the Pokemon turned their heads to Treecko with expressions of surprise as he stood in silence like the odd one out of the roster. Treecko seemed to notice this as well, because he turned his glance to the rest of the roster noticing that they were all staring at him. "(W-what?)" Treecko asked, starting to feel uncomfortable. Luckily, Ash and the others took notice of this as well.

"It looks like Treecko might be feeling a bit weird around all our other Pokemon." May commented, staring at this with her hands on her hips from puzzlement. "Well, that's because everyone is all staring." Misty added, turning her glance to May while she said that. May nodded in understanding; that seemed to make sense. Ash didn't seem to think there was a problem, though, because he showed a bright smile and bent down to the roster.

"Hey, everyone, there's no reason to be suspicious. Let's all say hello to Treecko!" Ash said. With this, the roster all turned around to greet Treecko, but Treecko simply turned his glance away and then grabbed onto a tree before climbing up it and heading up to a tree branch while the rest of the Pokemon watched in surprise. "Hey, Treecko, come back unless you want to miss lunch!" Ash called. From up in the tree branch, Treecko pulled out a small twig from the leaves and placed it in his mouth while the group watched silently.

"You don't think that Treecko would rather eat twigs than Brock's soup, do you?" May asked, showing an expression of puzzlement. "I don't think that's the reason why." Misty commented. Sure enough, she was proven right as Brock walked over having seen this as well.

"You're right, Misty. Treecko are tree-dwelling Pokemon. Plus, they're pretty shy, so it's probably just more comfortable up there." Brock explained. Ash had been listening to this and then he showed a bright smile as it came together in his head; since Treecko made his home in a tree, it made sense that Treecko would feel more comfortable being up in one. Treecko wasn't paying attention to this conversation, though; he was sitting up in the tree branch with his arms crossed, preferring to have his solitude.

A little later, everyone was sitting together enjoying their lunch; Ash and his friends were enjoying Brock's soup while all of the Pokemon were enjoying special Pokemon food. As May swallowed down a spoonful of soup, she had a bright smile on her face. "This is yummy! Brock, you should have your own cooking show." May happily commented, before she grabbed another spoonful to eat.

"Thanks, May." Brock replied, showing a smile at this compliment. As this was happening, the group looked up to see Torchic running back and forth with an apple on her back and a vine of purple grapes in her beak. "Hey, May, what's the deal with Torchic? It seems pretty wound up." Brock commented, noticing Torchic's joy as she was happily running around with her lunch.

"Torchic always gets excited about food, but I think it might be eating too much." May explained. Misty turned her glance with a cheeky smile as she commented "Well, Pokemon do tend to learn certain types of behaviour from their Trainer." That didn't sit well with May, because she showed a glare wondering just what Misty meant. Ash then noticed that Treecko was still sitting up in the tree, so he placed his bowl down and stood up to look up at Treecko.

"Hey, Treecko, you okay? You're not going to sit up in that tree all day, are you?" Ash asked, as he and Pikachu looked up at Treecko. After a few seconds, Ash didn't receive any response from Treecko so he figured that was a yes. "Well, all right. Your lunch is here if you get hungry." Ash said, holding up a bowl of Pokemon food that he was saving for Treecko. "(Yeah, I'll keep an eye on it!)" Pikachu added.

From up in the tree, Treecko heard everything that Ash had said. "(Okay...)" he replied, though he wasn't planning on coming down anytime soon. He then looked down to notice that some bushes were rustling from nearby. From a bush, a large snake-like Pokemon poked its head up; the Pokemon had deep blue skin with light purple markings, bright yellow markings on its head and around its eyes and bright red eyes and fangs. As it watched Ash and the others, it spotted Torchic running with her apple and grapes before heading back into the bushes, having spotted a target.

As Torchic was cheerfully running, she didn't notice that a tail was poking out from a bush beside her, and then she tripped on the tail and landed on the ground, causing the apple she was carrying on her back to fall off and hit her on the head, knocking the vine of grapes out of her beak before rolling away. Torchic quickly jumped up on her feet to give chase after the apple. "(Wait! Come back!)" Torchic called as she rushed after the apple as it rolled past a bush. As Torchic ran through the bush, she showed a bright smile when she saw that the apple had stopped rolling away. "(There you are!)" Torchic happily commented. She was about to take a bite out of the apple, but then she noticed something in front of her and slowly lifted her head up to notice a large snake-like Pokemon glaring at her. The Pokemon then lunged forward, prompting Torchic to let out a scream of shock, before it grabbed the apple she had been carrying on her back in its mouth.

"(You give that back!)" Torchic snapped. The Pokemon didn't pay attention to her though and munched down on the whole apple in one bite, which caused Torchic to start jumping up and down in anger. "(That was my apple! I was going to eat that!)" Torchic yelled. But then she stopped jumping and showed an expression of alarm when she saw that the Pokemon was now glaring at her and lunged forward to get at her next. "(Help!)" Torchic cried, realising that she was now in serious trouble.

However, just as the Pokemon was about to grab Torchic, a small twig landed on the ground between them, prompting the two Pokemon to look up in surprise and notice someone coming towards them: it was Treecko. Treecko landed on the Pokemon's head before flipping through the air and landing on the ground in front of her, placing one arm in front of her to protect her. "(Treecko?)" Torchic asked, showing an expression of surprise to see him here. Treecko then turned his head to Torchic to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"(Are you okay?)" Treecko asked. Torchic showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; she wasn't harmed at all. Treecko showed a small smile of relief at this reply before turning his attention back to the snake Pokemon as the two glared at each other. "(If you want her, then you'll have to go through me first!)" Treecko stated, before he lunged forward to attack the snake Pokemon. However, it moved out of the way of Treecko's charge to aim straight towards Torchic.

"(HELP!)" Torchic cried out, loud enough for Ash and the others to hear her from where they were, as they all stood up upon hearing the cry.

"What was that?" Ash asked, showing an expression of worry. May let out a gasp of shock as she could recognize who that was instantly. "That was Torchic!" May gasped. Without any hesitance, the group rushed off to find out where Torchic was.

Back with Treecko and Torchic, Treecko was watching with a glare as the snake Pokemon was throwing Torchic up into the air on its tail. "(You leave her alone!)" Treecko snapped, unwilling to stand for this kind of treatment. The snake Pokemon then turned to Treecko and let out a hiss before it suddenly heard someone call out. "Stop that!" The snake Pokemon and Treecko turned their heads to see Ash and the others arrive, with May being the one to yell that out.

"What is that?" Misty asked, showing an expression of surprise at the Pokemon they were staring at. Ash grabbed his Pokedex out from his bag to find out for himself. "Seviper, the Fang Snake Pokemon. Seviper is known for its angry disposition, immobilizing its opponents by wrapping its body around them." The Pokedex explained. May showed an expression of determination, as she could see that one of her Pokemon was in trouble.

"Don't worry, Torchic, I'll save you! Ralts, use Confusion!" May called. Noticing this, Misty decided to step in and give her some help too. "Starmie, use Psybeam!" Misty said.

With this, Ralts sent out small purple psychic wave while Starmie released a strong blast of energy from its jewel. However, Seviper moved out of the way of both attacks and then shot out a string of white poisonous bards from its mouth, which struck the ground in front of Ralts and Starmie and sent them flying backwards. With Ralts, she was sent slamming right into Riolu, who quickly took notice. "(Ralts, are you alright?)" Riolu asked, showing an expression of concern as he helped Ralts on her feet. Ralts shook her head and then turned to Riolu with a bright smile.

"(Yes, I'm okay. Thanks, Riolu.)" Ralts replied, nodding. Riolu showed a smile of relief at this and then the two turned their attention back to Seviper as it shot out a large cloud of black smoke which covered the area and made things hard to see for the group.

"This is Seviper's Haze attack!" Brock said, as he was able to figure out what this was right away. May looked around nervously before turning her head to Brock. "That's a fitting name for it, because it's hard for me to see anything." May commented, showing an expression of worry as she wasn't sure of where she was. Luckily, Ash was standing beside her and noticed her concern, so he reached over and grabbed her hand so she'd know she was safe with him. May showed an expression of surprise seeing this, and then she looked up at Ash showing a comforting smile, and she happily smiled back.

While this was happening, Treecko looked up to notice that one of the trees beside him had a branch tall enough to get above the smoke, so he ran over and climbed up the tree to get to the branch and once he was up there, he spotted Seviper holding Torchic in its tail, so he jumped off the tree and slammed Seviper's head with his tail, causing it to let go of Torchic and then Treecko jumped off to catch her in his arms and run back over to the group. May quickly showed a bright smile seeing that Torchic was safe.

"Torchic!" May gasped as Treecko placed Torchic down on the ground. Without any hesitance, Torchic ran over to May and leapt into her arms as May hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay..." May whispered from relief, while Torchic snuggled up against her. Ash watched her with a bright smile before looking down at Treecko.

"Thanks, Treecko. Good job!" Ash happily commented. However, it seemed that Seviper wasn't done just yet as it lunged forward with a glare on its face. "It's coming back!" Brock warned. Treecko turned around to notice this and before he had a chance to react, Seviper's tail started to glow bright purple and it slammed its tail against Treecko, sending him flying backwards and slamming against a tree, after which he then landed on the ground, badly hurt.

"Treecko!" Ash gasped. Seviper then charged forward to finish Treecko off, but May quickly stepped forward to deal with this. "Oh, no you don't, Seviper! Wurmple, use String Shot!" May called. Wurmple shot out a long string of silk from her mouth which wrapped around Seviper's mouth and slammed it shut. After a few seconds of struggling, Seviper managed to break the silk off and started to charge towards the group, ready for more battling.

"Now, Ralts, use Confusion!" May called. "Starmie, use Psybeam!" Misty added. With this, Ralts sent out light purple psychic waves and Starmie shot out a strong blast of energy from its jewel, with both attacks hitting Seviper directly. Seviper was then flying back and slammed onto the ground, before it slowly got up ready for more.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said, wanting to finish this off. Pikachu then released a strong bolt of electricity that hit Seviper directly, causing it to turn away and slither away back into the bushes. Once it was gone, the group started to relax. "Well, I hope we see the last of that thing." May commented showing a smile of relief that Seviper would leave them along for the time being.

However, they still had something else to worry about: Treecko was grabbing his arm from pain after the direct attack from Seviper. Ash and the others quickly ran over to check on him. "Are you okay?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. Treecko struggled to get up on his own for a few moments, but then fell back down on the grass due to the pain in his arms.

"Taking a direct hit from Seviper like that; it's no wonder Treecko looks in such bad shape!" Misty commented. "And it just did that just for you, Torchic. What do we do?" May asked, showing an expression of concern. Torchic could only watch with worry in her eyes, as she wasn't sure of what would happen to Treecko.

"I'm pretty sure I saw a Pokemon Centre just up ahead." Brock replied. Ash then bent down and picked Treecko up, before standing up as he held the Gecko Pokemon in his arms. "Just hang in there, Treecko. We're going to get you fixed up in no time." Ash said. Treecko still held on to his arm, finding it difficult to endure the pain.

While this was happening, the Rocket Trio poked their heads up from behind a bush nearby with Jessie showing a smile. "I've just spotted something that will be sure to make our day!" Jessie commented. "A taco stand with a Jacuzzi out back?" Meowth suggested. "I think she's talking about that Seviper and its amazing battle ability." James replied, sharing a similar smile to Jessie; they had been watching the battle from hiding, and Seviper had caught Jessie's eye.

"A Pokemon like that would make a perfect addition to my team. After all, after Arbok left, all I have are Wobbuffet and Wurmple, so something like Seviper just seems perfect for me!" Jessie happily stated. James and Meowth both looked over at her wondering the same thing. "But how do you suppose we're going to catch it?" James asked. Jessie simply showed a confident smile, as she knew just the way to handle that.

"It's simple; all we need is a plan to lure Seviper into one of our traps and we'll be all set to go!" Jessie replied. James and Meowth both stared in surprise for a few moments; given that they were working on turning themselves around, they didn't think they would have to use their traps. But having just witnessed how strong Seviper was, they knew that it wouldn't be easy to capture it. "Come on, you two! Let's get moving!" Jessie then said. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, while Wobbuffet popped out blurting "Wobbuffet!"

With Ash and the others, they were running down the path to find the Pokemon Centre. "Guys, look! There it is!" Misty said, pointing forward. Sure enough, just ahead was the building with the red 'P' sign. "Nurse Joy, we need your help!" Ash called as he and the others arrived at the door, which opened automatically to let them in.

Out in the woods, a pack of Beautifly and Zigzagoon were cheerfully munching on some apples. The Zigzagoon looked up to be met with Seviper glaring at them from behind a bush, and they immediately jumped in panic and made a run for it leaving the apples behind. Once the Pokemon were gone, Seviper gathered up all the apples in its mouth and munched on them for a few seconds before swallowing them, letting out a slither of content. From a tree branch nearby, the Rocket Trio were watching this display.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Meowth commented. "With those manners, the doctor and everyone else." James added. "Oh, I can't wait to have such a powerful Pokemon under my complete command!" Jessie happily sighed.

"Well, we know it has a fondness for all things fruity and it's headed right for my trap so it won't be long now." Meowth said. As Seviper slithered along the ground, it noticed that just up ahead was a basket full of different kinds of fruits, while not noticing a hole that had been dug up in the ground waiting for it. Seviper showed a bright smile and started to make its way towards the basket, while the Rocket Trio watched from a bush nearby.

"Ooh! It spotted the fruit!" Jessie excitedly cheered. "Keep moving forward..." James said. "Now go on and fall in the hole." Meowth added. Seviper was about to start munching on the fruit, but then it started looking from side to side to make sure no one was there. Unfortunately, the Rocket Trio didn't seem to realise this as they all stared in surprise.

"What's it doing?" Jessie asked. "Maybe it don't like the basket?" Meowth suggested. "I told you the pineapple was a bad idea." James commented. After looking around to make sure there was no one around, Seviper turned around and lifted the basket up with its tail, missing the hole completely and heading off. The Rocket Trio were left staring in shock, and then they quickly jumped out from behind the bush, seemingly unaware of where they were standing.

"That fruit basket wasn't meant as a gift!" Jessie snapped. "This was expensive! Fruit doesn't grow on trees, you know!" James yelled out, stamping on the ground and being unaware of what he was saying. "What's the big idea of getting away and making me look bad when you're supposed to be standing here on this trap?" Meowth asked. As soon as Meowth said that, there was silence for a few moments before the Rocket Trio realised where they were standing and slowly looked down at the ground nervously.

"What trap, exactly?" Jessie asked. "You mean the one we're standing on right now?" James asked, just to be sure he knew where they were. "Yeah; good thing it didn't work so well." Meowth commented. After a few seconds, the ground gave way underneath their feet and the Rocket Trio were sent dropping into their own hole.

A little later, the Rocket Trio had managed to get out of their hole trap and were looking out for Seviper in another hiding place behind some trees. "Now, are you two sure you understand the new plan? I don't want any more mistakes!" Jessie stated. James and Meowth both nodded in understanding; fortunately for them, they knew exactly what they had to do.

"You say something clever to get Seviper's attention..." James said. "And then we both jump out and snatch it up in the Poke-Net!" Meowth finished. Jessie showed a bright smile hearing that they both remembered, and then the three turned their heads to see Seviper coming their way, so they ducked down to hide. As Seviper went past them, Jessie then jumped out from behind the bush.

"Seviper, it's lunchtime!" Jessie happily called. Seviper promptly turned around to see where the food was, but was instead met with James and Meowth jumping out holding a net to capture it with. "You're a part of our team now, so I suggest you stop struggling and accept this as your lucky day." Jessie explained. However, Seviper didn't seem all that willing to give up so easily, as it glared up at them.

"I think it's mad!" Meowth blurted, so he and Meowth started to pull on the net to restrain Seviper, but they were being outmatched by Seviper pulling back. "Oh, come on, you creampuffs! Put some muscle into it!" Jessie snapped, showing an expression of annoyance. With this, she grabbed the net to start pulling as well, but Seviper effortlessly bit through the net, sending the Rocket Trio flying backwards and slamming into a tree while Seviper slithered away.

"My spleen! I give up!" Meowth groaned. "How about we catch something easier like a taxi?" James suggested. However, Jessie didn't seem faltered at all because she was showing a big smile and an expression of determination; she was all the more raring to catch Seviper for herself. "Catch this one, you cupcakes. Now that I've seen how tough Seviper is, I want to grab it even more!" Jessie stated.

At the Pokemon Centre, Ash was looking through the glass to the room where Treecko was being tended to; he was placed on a table while Nurse Joy monitored him with Chansey beside her. As Ash was watching in worry, he turned his glance to see someone walking over: it was May with Torchic in her arms. "May, how come you're here?" Ash asked.

"Torchic was getting worried about Treecko, so I thought we'd come over to see what's going on." May replied. Ash nodded in understanding, and then he and May turned their attention back so they could watch Treecko and see if he would be okay. As May noticed Torchic watching in worry, she showed a caring smile. "Don't worry, Torchic. Nurse Joy knows what she's doing. I think Treecko will be okay." May softly explained. However, that did little to ease Torchic's worries; she was still thinking about how Treecko protected her from Seviper. "(Treecko...)" Torchic worriedly said with tears filling her eyes; she really wanted him to get better as well, so she could properly thank him for saving her.

Back with the Rocket Trio, they were enjoying a lunch break after their failed attempts at catching Seviper and they were having rice balls to munch on to fill them up. "Seviper always seems to be one step ahead of us." James commented underneath a mouth full of rice. He then took a bite out of his rice ball while Jessie did the same.

"Which means we've got to work that much harder and come up with a new plan." Jessie said. Meowth then stuffed the rice ball he was eating into his mouth. "I work much better on a full tummy." Meowth commented. He then reached down to grab the last rice ball, only for Jessie and James to do the same thing which meant that all three of them had their hands on them. The three stared in surprise before glaring at each other for a few seconds, and then they held the rice ball up in the air with matching bright smiles.

"Rice ball free for all!" The three cheered in unison, only for Jessie to suddenly snatch it away from them. "But you know it's over and I'm the winner!" Jessie happily commented. James begged to differ, though, because he promptly grabbed it away from her while she was left staring in irritation.

"That's so rude! You don't see me or Meowth grabbing, do you?" James asked. He was then met with a shock as Meowth climbed up onto him to grab the rice ball for himself, with Jessie doing the same. The tussle lasted for a few seconds until Jessie accidently lost her grip on the rice ball, and it was sent flying into the air and landed in the nearby lake with a splash, much to James and Meowth's horror.

"That was the last one!" James cried. "Fallen to a watery grave!" Meowth blurted. The two then turned their heads with tears flooding from their eyes. "What do you think? Should we say a few words in its memory?" James asked. "Here lies a rice ball I didn't get to eat..." Meowth said. Jessie simply watched in the two in silence before she shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Oh, quit your sniffling. It was just like a rice ball, like any other." Jessie said before holding up a spare rice ball she had with her. James and Meowth both turned their heads up and showed matching expressions of surprise upon seeing this.

"Where'd that come from?" James asked. "And where's ours?" Meowth added.

Jessie simply showed a big smile as she held the rice ball close so they wouldn't be able to get their hands on it. "Where do you think it's from? I saved it just in case." she cheerfully replied. James and Meowth both showed matching glares as that didn't sit with them.

"In case of what?" James asked. "Yeah, of what?" Meowth agreed, as he was just as upset as James was by this. Jessie wasn't faltered by their dismay because she simply showed a bright smile.

"You two should know that all's fair in lunch and war." Jessie stated. She then brought the rice ball to her mouth, ready to chow down. "Down the hatch!" Jessie cheerfully commented. But as she was about to eat, a tail slowly reached forward and grabbed the rice ball away from her as she wasn't paying attention, which left her to bite on thin air. She then opened her eyes to notice this, and turned her head to see that Seviper had snatched the rice ball away from her and munched down on it in one gulp. The Rocket Trio stared in silence for a few moments, before Jessie showed an expression of anger and pointed accusingly at Seviper. "How dare you steal from me, you overgrown Weedle! Don't you know who I am?!" Jessie snapped. Seviper simply showed a sneaky smile at its theft and stuck its tongue out at Jessie, something that infuriated her even more. "What?! You gave me the raspberry?!" she snapped. James and Meowth were both watching this and they figured that maybe they should remind Jessie of what to do before she forgot.

"Jessie, now's your chance." James whispered. Jessie turned her head to the two, showing an expression of surprise as she started to wonder what they were talking about. "Catch it while it's close." Meowth explained; this was Jessie's chance to catch Seviper now that they were staring it in the eyes.

"Oh, that's right. I knew that." Jessie commented. With this, she grabbed out one of her Pokeballs and threw it, which opened and released Wobbuffet. "Teach that thieving Seviper a lesson!" Jessie ordered. With this, Wobbuffet started to glare at Seviper and then there was nothing but silence as the Pokemon glared at each other for a few seconds. As soon as he could tell that this wasn't going anywhere, James slowly turned his glance to Jessie.

"I'm pretty sure you know this already, but Wobbuffet can't do anything until it's attacked by something else..." James explained. Jessie simply showed an annoyed glare in response, to which James nearly jumped in surprise, and then she promptly returned Wobbuffet into his Pokeball.

"All right, guess it's time to try something else. Wurmple, come on out!" Jessie said, as she figured that she could use the other Pokemon she had with her. With this, she grabbed the Pokeball out and threw it, which opened and released Wurmple who landed on the ground in front of her. "Wurmple, show that Seviper what you've got!" Jessie stated, pointing to Seviper as Wurmple's target. With this, Wurmple started to charge towards Seviper, but Seviper simply moved out of the way while Wurmple turned around in surprise, and then Seviper's tail started to glow bright purple and it aimed towards Wurmple, but the little worm Pokemon quickly jumped out of the way leaving Seviper to strike the ground and get its tail stuck. "Yes, now we're getting somewhere!" Jessie cheered, showing a bright smile. Once Wurmple landed on the ground, she turned to face Seviper and shot out a string of silk which wrapped around Seviper's body so it couldn't move. "All right, Wurmple, well done!" Jessie happily commented, to which Wurmple turned around to her and showed a bright smile cheering as well. But while Wurmple wasn't looking, she heard chomping behind her and turned around to find that Seviper had bitten through the silk effortlessly and had also gotten its tail unstuck from the ground. Wurmple promptly jumped from panic and quickly ran over to Jessie before returning herself into her Pokeball. Jessie could only stare in surprise at this turn of events, before she turned her attention to Meowth.

"All right, let's see if you're any use, Meowth. Double-Edge Attack!" Jessie stated, grabbing Meowth while he was left in shock before throwing him in Seviper's direction. "Wait! I don't know that attack!" Meowth yelled out. Once he got close enough, Seviper slammed him with its tail, sending him flying back towards Jessie and James and slamming into them, knocking them backwards onto the ground and causing a rice ball to fall out of Jessie's pocket and start bouncing across the ground to Jessie's alarm.

"Oh, my last rice ball!" Jessie gasped. She then jumped up on her feet and started to run after it, while James and Meowth lifted their heads up from surprise at this. "What?" James asked. "She had one hidden!" Meowth commented.

"Oh no, you won't get away!" Jessie snapped. She then lunged forward to grab the rice ball, but she let out a scream of alarm when she saw that Seviper had opened its mouth to snatch up the rice ball and she was aiming straight towards its jaws and she quickly turned around to get out of the way, but unfortunately that caused Jessie's hair to get caught in Seviper's jaws, to which Seviper bit down and tore Jessie's hair off much to the alarm of the Rocket Trio, especially Jessie with the three screaming in alarm as they saw Seviper holding Jessie's hair in its mouth. As soon as Jessie saw this, she let out a loud wail with waterfalls of tears flowing from her eyes.

"Not my hair! My flowing hair is my trademark!" Jessie wailed. But then, her shock and sadness was quickly replaced with anger as a nasty glare appeared on her face. "You just made a very big mistake, Seviper!" Jessie snapped with fury burning in her eyes; this was where she drew the line. Seviper showed an expression of alarm, as it started to realise it may have made a mistake it shouldn't have, while James and Meowth watched in fear with their eyes having shrunk in size; this was what Jessie was like when she lost her temper, and that was something they knew to stay clear out of the way of.

"Poor Seviper..." James worriedly commented. "It knows not what it's done!" Meowth gasped. Sure enough, the two were right as Jessie let out a loud scream of fury before she rapidly scratched Seviper's face with her bare hands, prompting it to let a cry of pain.

"She used Fury Swipes!" Meowth blurted. "Emphasis on fury!" James added. This was then topped by Jessie jumping up into the air and slamming her foot directly on Seviper's head. "Her unstoppable Megahorn Kick!" James exclaimed. "It's super effective!" Meowth added. Sure enough, Seviper had been knocked out, but Jessie didn't seem to be done just yet, as she grabbed Seviper's head and pulled it up as she was still raring for more payback.

"You rice ball-stealing, long hair-chomping..." Jessie said, shaking Seviper's head back and forth rapidly while having her fist up as she was ready to start punching Seviper's face in next. However, James and Meowth were both to quick to run in and stop her.

"Wait, wait!" James called. "Now's your chance, Jess. Catch it!" Meowth explained. Luckily, this quickly reached Jessie's ears as she turned to the two with a bright smile as she let go of Seviper who slowly dropped onto the ground and tapped the side of her head. "Oh yes, of course, catch it! That's just what I was about to do." Jessie cheerfully commented.

"Oh, boy..." James groaned, letting out a sigh of relief that Jessie had snapped out of her rage-induced state. "That was a close call." Meowth commented, nodding as he seemed to agree with James on that. With this, Jessie threw one of her empty Pokeballs on her belt at Seviper, which opened once it hit Seviper's head and Seviper was captured inside, after which the Pokeball closed and dropped onto the ground before it started to shake. After a few seconds, the Pokeball stopped shaking which meant Jessie's capture was successful. Jessie showed a bright smile seeing this, and then she picked the Pokeball up and held it into the air.

"I caught a Seviper!" Jessie cheered. James and Meowth both happily cheered along with her, raising their hands in the air while Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball blurting "Wobbuffet!" in celebration along with them.

At the Pokemon Centre, Ash and the others were waiting for an update on Treecko's progress, and May was sitting at a chair nearby with Torchic sitting on her lap; Torchic was still feeling worried about how Treecko was doing. Just then, Nurse Joy came out to see the group and she had a bright smile on her face. "Treecko will be just fine. It needs to rest for a little while and then we can bring it out." Nurse Joy explained. Ash showed a bright smile hearing that Treecko would be okay and Torchic seemed to share his sentiments because she let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash replied.

May then looked down at Torchic seeing her smile of relief. "Are you feeling better now, Torchic?" she asked. Torchic lifted her head up to May and cheerfully nodded in agreement. May then looked up at Nurse Joy with an expression of puzzlement as she was wondering about something. "Nurse Joy, I was wondering. Could the Nurse Joy we made in Oldale Town be your little sister?" May asked.

"Everyone always asks me that, but no." Nurse Joy replied. Brock then walked over, figuring that he should explain the relations here. "May, this Nurse Joy is the younger sister of the second cousin of the Nurse Joy in Oldale Town's first cousin. Isn't that right?" Brock asked, to which Nurse Joy cheerfully nodded while May could only stare in stunned silence. Luckily, May didn't seem to be the only one who was confused because Misty was scratching her head in bewilderment.

"Uh, could you say that again, Brock? You had me and then you lost me at second cousin." Misty commented, turning her head to Brock. "I hear you, Misty. I'm a bit lost on that too." May agreed, showing a nervous smile. Just then, the group turned their heads to see Chansey running over in what seemed to be a panic.

"Chansey, what's wrong?" Nurse Joy asked, showing an expression of concern. In response, Chansey pressed her hands against the sides of her head until they resembled Treecko's hand and her eyes went yellow. "Are you saying that Treecko snuck out of its room by itself?" Nurse Joy asked. Chansey promptly turned to Nurse Joy and nodded in confirmation, which prompted the group to all stare in shock. Without any hesitance, the group quickly rushed out of the front door to start looking for Treecko.

"Treecko, where are you?" Ash asked. "Come back!" May called. "Are you out there?" Nurse Joy called, with Chansey calling out for Treecko as well. Torchic then rushed over as well, as she had been left behind inside the Pokemon Centre while the others left, and she started to look around with an expression of worry on her face.

"(Treecko? Treecko, are you here?)" Torchic worriedly asked. As she turned her glance forward, she noticed something lying on the ground just ahead of her. She ran over to find that there was a long piece of bandage paper lying on the ground, so she picked it up in her beak and ran back over to the group to show them it. "(Guys, look at this!)" Torchic said, placing the paper back down in front of the group.

"What's that?" Ash asked, showing an expression of surprise. "It's Treecko's bandages." Nurse Joy replied. The group then looked up in the direction that Treecko had apparently run off in; it seemed that he had rushed off towards the hills.

"Why do you think Treecko ran away?" May asked. "There's only one way to find out." Ash replied. With this, he started to run off ahead while the others followed after him to find where Treecko went.

Out in the forest where a small waterfall was rushing down into a lake below, Treecko was sitting on a rock at the top of the waterfall; he was looking down at the rock at the bottom of the waterfall right near where the water was rushing down. After a few seconds, Treecko spat the twig in his mouth down to the ground below, and then he leapt off the rock diving head first towards the bottom of the waterfall.

Back with Ash and the others, they were out in the woods looking for Treecko. "Come on, Treecko! Please let me know where you are!" Ash called. "(Treecko, where did you go?)" Pikachu asked, with Torchic looking out for Treecko as well as she was standing beside him; she was really starting to worry about where he could have gone and if she would be able to find him.

"I'm surprised that Treecko was able to get so far considering it hadn't fully recovered." Brock commented. "Yeah, so am I. Where do you think Treecko went?" May asked, nodding in agreement with Brock. As Misty was looking around for any sign for Treecko, she could suddenly hear something coming from behind some bushes nearby.

"Hey, guys, I just heard something coming from this way!" Misty said, pointing off to the left. The others turned their glances in the direction Misty was pointing at and saw that just up ahead was a small waterfall. As they poked their heads out from behind a bush, they noticed that there was Treecko; he was plummeting towards the bottom of the waterfall before he shifted himself to aim his tail towards the rock, only to bounce off it and splash into the water. Torchic showed a bright smile upon seeing her and then she jumped out from behind the bush and was about to run over to see Treecko, but she was stopped when May grabbed her and pulled her back so they could watch what was going on.

"Guys, look! There's Treecko!" Ash happily commented. But then, an expression of puzzlement crossed his face when he noticed what it was that Treecko was doing. "But... what do you think it's doing?" he asked, turning his head to the others. "It looks like it's doing some sort of training." Misty suggested.

"That's exactly right, Misty. It's working out." Brock agreed, nodding. The others turned to Brock in surprise wondering what he meant. "I'll bet Treecko is still upset with itself about losing to Seviper." Brock explained. The others then turned their heads to watch Treecko, understanding what exactly he was doing. "So now Treecko's pushing itself to train..." Ash commented to himself.

"Guess Treecko really doesn't like to lose, huh?" Misty asked. May quickly showed a bright smile of excitement at this. "I think that's really cool!" May happily commented. Ash couldn't help himself turning his glance to May with a smile on his face before he and the others turned their attention back to watch Treecko, with Torchic paying attention to this the most.

As the group watched, Treecko climbed up to the top of the waterfall before leaping off and slamming his tail against the rock before bouncing off and landing into the water several times, a few of which he ended up slamming against the rock with his body, leaving bruises as a result. After what seemed to be numerous attempt, Treecko stood at the top of the waterfall trying to catch his breath and then he leapt off the rock before starting to spin rapidly through the air. As soon as he got close to the rock at the bottom, Treecko turned and slammed his tail against the rock, smashing it into little rocks while the group watched with smiles of awe. "I see what Treecko's been trying to do. It managed to triple its attacking power by spinning before hitting its target!" Brock commented. The others all showed bright smiles at this and started to head out of the bush to meet up with Treecko. "Good job, Treecko!" Ash cheered as he was the first to rush out, with Pikachu following beside him.

Meanwhile, not too far from where Ash and the others were, the Rocket Trio were continuing their way through Petalburg Woods with Jessie happily holding the Pokeball Seviper was in. "Ah, finally! After a long struggle of trying to catch it, Seviper is on my team. Now we can get back to looking for the twerps." Jessie commented. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, though they were wondering how they were supposed to do that when they could be anywhere in these woods. Just then, hearing what sounded like a Pokemon cry from up ahead, the Rocket Trio turned their heads in surprise. "What was that?" Jessie asked.

"That sounded like it was coming from this way." Meowth replied, pointing straight ahead. Without any hesitance, the Rocket Trio started to rush over in that direction and they poked their heads up from behind a bush to notice that Ash and the others were there, just in front of a small waterfall. "Hey, check it out! It's them!" Meowth commented, as he, Jessie and James all showed smiles of delight that they were able to find Ash and the others.

"Oh, finally! We'll get a chance to ask them for their help at last." James said. Just then, the Pokeball Jessie was holding opened up on its own to release Seviper, who spotted Treecko from behind the bush and she let out a hiss upon seeing him; she still had some unfinished business with him to take care of.

"Seviper, what are you doing?" Jessie asked. She then watched in shock as Seviper lunged forward out of the bush and headed right towards Treecko. "Seviper, come back here!" Jessie called as she and the others watched in alarm. However, Jessie's yell fell on deaf ears as Seviper charged towards Treecko, to which Ash and the others turned their heads to notice.

"It's that same Seviper!" Brock said. "How did it find us?" May asked, showing an expression of surprise. Seviper let out a hiss before glaring at Treecko, to which Treecko started to step forward, as he was ready for a rematch against the Fang Snake Pokemon. Ash seemed to take notice as well, because he turned his glance down to Treecko.

"Treecko, hold on." Ash said. Treecko turned his head to Ash, wondering what it was Ash wanted to say. "Before you start battling, don't forget you're not alone. We're your friends, Treecko, and we're on your side, okay? We'll battle with you." Ash explained, showing a bright smile. Treecko stared in silence for a few moments hearing this and then he turned his head to May holding Torchic in her arms, Brock and Misty standing behind Ash; they were all nodding in agreement to show that they were here by his side, and they would help no matter what. Seeing that he had all of these friends with him, Treecko showed a bright smile before turning his attention back to Seviper as the two Pokemon glared at each other ready to battle. Seviper made the first move with her tail starting to glow bright purple; it was the same move she had used to dispatch Treecko effortlessly.

"Treecko, use your Quick Attack!" Ash quickly called. Without much hesitance, Treecko started to rush back and forth jumping out of Seviper's Poison Tail attack as she was struggling to hit him while he was jumping back and forth rapidly. "Now, use Pound!" Ash said. With this, Treecko lunged forward and slapped Seviper hard across the face, sending her flying backwards. However, Seviper wasn't willing to stand for Treecko knocking her around so easily and started to charge towards him with her tail glowing purple again. Luckily, Ash had an idea to counter this.

"Treecko, use the move you've been practicing!" Ash called. As Seviper's Poison Tail got close to where Treecko was, he jumped out of the way as Seviper slammed her tail onto the ground. Once Treecko was up in the air, he started to spin rapidly as he dropped towards the ground, while Seviper watched in shock, and then slammed his tail down directly on Seviper's head, sending her flying backwards towards the bush where the Rocket Trio were watching, and they all watched in shock as Seviper was sent flying towards them, before she slammed right into them and sent them flying backwards out in the woods. "We don't need another setback!" The Rocket Trio blurted in unison as they were sent flying and disappeared into the bushes.

Once Seviper was gone, Treecko walked over and grabbed the little twig out from the ground before placing it back in his mouth, and then he looked up to see Ash and the others walking over to him. "Great job, Treecko. Thanks to you, hopefully that Seviper will finally leave us alone." Ash commented, while Pikachu happily nodded in agreement. Treecko stared up at Ash for a few moments before turning his head away, much to Ash and Pikachu's surprise, and then he lifted his tail up to them with a bright smile. "Oh, I see!" Ash happily commented, and then he and Pikachu placed their heads on Treecko's tail before Treecko slowly started to move it up and down; it was his version of a handshake.

"So that's how Treecko shake hands. Treecko really is full of surprises!" May happily commented, showing a bright smile. "Yeah; I'm just glad Treecko's on our side." Brock replied. "Me too." Misty agreed. Just then, they were met with a surprise when Torchic jumped out of May's arms and ran over to Treecko, who turned around to see her showing him a big smile.

"(Treecko, I'm so happy to see you're feeling better. I didn't get a chance to tell you this before Seviper attacked you, but...)" Torchic was silent for a few moments before she ran over and started to nuzzle up against Treecko, much to his surprise. "(Thank you so much for saving me and protecting me against Seviper.)" Torchic happily said. Treecko was left staring in stunned silence for a few moments before a smile slowly crossed his face and he placed his paws on Torchic's feathers to hold her close.

"(You're welcome, Torchic. I was glad to see that you're safe.)" Treecko replied. Torchic showed a bright smile at this before she resumed nuzzling up against him, while Ash and the others watched with bright smiles.

"Aw, look at that! I think Torchic likes Treecko." Misty happily said. May looked up to think for a few moments; she remembered that when she was at Trainer's School, she learnt that when two Pokemon shared feelings for each other, there was a likely chance that their Trainers would as well.

'_First Riolu and Ralts, and now Torchic and Treecko. There's no way it could be possible, right? Could this mean that...?' _May thought to herself, before turning her glance to Ash who was still busy shaking Treecko's tail along with Pikachu, and then she showed an expression of shock and she felt her cheeks start to glow red. _'Could that mean that... Ash likes me without even knowing it?' _May thought to herself. But then, she shook her head rapidly, figuring that maybe she was over thinking this a bit too much.

Sufficied to say, it had been quite an eventful day for Ash and the others, and they could all agree on one thing: they were looking forward to finally arriving in Rustboro City, no matter how long that took.


	11. Rise of Team Aqua

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 11: Rise of Team Aqua**

Ash, May, Brock and Misty were continuing their trek through Petalburg Woods to get to Rustboro City. However, it seemed that the amount of time that they had taken walking to get there was starting to wear on Misty's patience, as she was showing an expression of annoyance at how long they were taking to find a way out of these woods; she had felt like they had been here for a long time. "Man, how long is it going to be until we get out of here? I think I lost track of time." Ash commented; apparently, he shared Misty's thoughts on the fact that they had been in these woods for quite a while, but he was nowhere near as annoyed as Misty was. If anything, he was just feeling exhausted. Brock turned his glance to Ash seeing his dismay and then he showed a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't worry, Ash. If we keep going to this rate, we should be out of here in no time." Brock commented. May, who had been walking right beside Ash all the while, showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "Yeah! And once we get to Rustboro City, we'll have a lot to do while we're there, like looking at the shops, finding out what kinds of gourmet foods are available..." May cheerfully commented, placing a finger underneath her chin as she started to think about what sort of things they could do once they got to Rustboro. She was even thinking about the possibility of asking Ash out on a date after the Gym Battle, not that she would admit that out loud, of course; that was something she didn't want to ever imagine letting out by mistake, for now at least.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Misty had reached her boiling point by this point, because her expression of annoyance slowly changed to anger and she let out a loud scream without warning, which prompted the others to jump from alarm, and was almost loud enough to scare away some Taillow that were resting in the trees. After a few seconds, the scream stopped and Misty started to breathe heavily while the others turned their heads to her with expressions of concern, having had just barely enough time to cover their ears. "Misty, what's wrong?" Brock asked, wondering what could have caused Misty to lose her temper like that. "Yeah, what's getting you so upset?" May gently asked, as she didn't want to risk making Misty mad, or worse than she already was, at least.

"This is unbelievable! I feel like we've been walking in circles forever in this place! Not even getting through Viridian Forest took this long!" Misty snapped, her voice slowly rising in volume from frustration. She then turned her head to May, with an expression of anger on her face, and pointed a finger towards her accusingly. "And if there's anyone to blame for all of this, it's you, May!" Misty snapped. The others could only stare in shock, as they were all wondering how May was responsible for any of this.

"Me?!" May asked, pointing to herself in disbelief. She then showed an expression of annoyance at this accusation and placed her hands on her hips defensively. "How is this my fault, Misty?" May retorted. Ash didn't show any signs of hesitance, either, because he quickly walked over and placed an arm in front of May in defence with a firm expression on his face. "Yeah, May hasn't done anything wrong. Leave her alone!" Ash agreed, with Pikachu promptly nodding in agreement and showing a firm expression just like Ash's. Misty didn't seem to be in any mood to listen to reason at this point, because she grabbed Ash firmly with one hand and pulled him away while he nearly stumbled backwards from the sheer force of how hard she was pulling away from in front of May.

"Was I talking to you, Ash?!" Misty yelled, pointing at Ash while he jumped with an expression of surprise seeing just how angry she was. She then turned her head to May, since she was the one that Misty wanted to address her issues to. "If you hadn't been leading us in the wrong direction, we would have made it out of here by now! It's like you have no idea of where we are!" Misty explained, pointing out to the forest around them to illustrate the fact that they were still nowhere close to getting out of Petalburg Woods.

"You've got to be kidding me! The only mistake I made was taking the left path while me and Ash were looking for you and Brock, and even then we weren't sure of where we'd find you." May retorted. "So then why didn't you think about going to the right instead? I'll bet that would have made things a lot easier!" Misty sharply replied. Ash and Brock both watched in silence and then looked at each other, feeling uncertain of what they could do to stop the argument.

"So you think the fact that we haven't made it out of these woods yet is my fault?" May asked, trying to clarify if she was hearing all of this right. "Yeah! If you weren't with us, we would have been able to find our way out without any problem. You know what you are, May? You're nothing but a burden; you're just holding us back!" Misty yelled. Upon hearing this, May let out a gasp of shock, as she couldn't believe what Misty had just said about her, while Ash and Brock were left staring in shock as well, as they were in as much disbelief that Misty said that as well. Silence then filled the air as Misty was glaring, while May simply stood in shock as the word Misty just used to describe her circulated in her ears: a burden. It was a clear affirmation of Misty's belief that she was just holding them back, exactly like Misty herself said. May then felt tears build in her eyes as the realisation of how much that hurt her to hear hit her, but then she quickly brushed them away showing an expression of anger that matched Misty's; there was only one thing left for her to do.

"Well, if that's how you feel about me, then I don't need your help! I'll find a way out of these woods myself!" May retorted. "That sounds like a plan to me!" Misty replied. The two girls then started to glare at each other while Brock slowly walked over to try and settle things down before they got worse.

"Uh... ladies? You think that maybe we should try to take it easy and talk this out?" Brock nervously suggested, though he had a feeling that his suggestion would fall on deaf ears. Sure enough, he was proven correct as May and Misty turned their heads to him with matching glares. "Do you mind?!" The two snapped in unison. Brock nearly jumped at the two's outburst, but then he slowly backed away as the two then turned their glances back to each other. May then crossed her arms and turned her head away, refusing to keep her glance on Misty, or the other two who were watching this on.

"I didn't even need your help to begin with. This burden can manage just fine on her own!" May stated. With this, she started to run off ahead while the others watched, with Ash showing an expression of shock seeing May run off by herself. "May, wait!" Ash called, reaching one hand forward, but his call fell on deaf ears as May had already run too far ahead to hear him. Misty looked up in silence for a few seconds before a scowl returned to her face and she crossed her arms; it was clear to see that her mind had been made up.

"Let her go, Ash. We don't need her." Misty stated. Ash didn't pay any attention to Misty's statement nor did he see that she and Brock were already walking off and leaving him behind; he could only look at the direction that May had run off in, struggling to register that she had made the decision to go off on her own and leave them. He then looked down to find that the daisy May had placed behind her ear was lying on the ground in front of him; it had apparently slipped out of May's hair while she was running. Ash bent down and picked it up, looking at it in silence for a few moments before he looked back up to look at the direction May had run off in and an expression of worry then slowly appeared on his face, as all he could think about was if May really knew what she was doing, and if she would be okay going off by herself.

May hadn't bothered to keep track of how long she had been running for, all she knew for sure was that she had to get as far away from Misty as possible; she was still hearing her words ring through her ears. _'Why would Misty say things like that about me? I know that she was upset about us having not made out of here yet, but why did she have to take it out on me? Is she right? Have I really been holding everyone back all this time?' _May asked herself, showing an expression of worry as she didn't know what to think about this. She then felt tears starting to build in her eyes once these thoughts came to her head, and she stopped running to catch her breath for a few seconds, and she was met with a shock as tears fell freely down her face and splashed onto the grass. May lifted her head up and slowly brushed her tears away, and then she walked over to a tree nearby and leaned against it before sitting down on the grass. "How could Misty say something like that? Would she even mean that?" May quietly asked herself, trying to understand what just happened. While this was happening, she didn't notice that there was someone watching her from a bush nearby; the silhouette seemed to be that of a young woman, and a smirk crossed her face as she could see that her new target was in line of sight, and that it was time for her to put her plan into motion. With this, she slowly ducked into the bushes so she could get started in figuring how to go about this.

After a few seconds, May slowly turned her glance up to see the blue sky with a few clouds floating past her, and then she looked down to think for a bit before an expression of determination came to her face and she nodded in affirmation with an idea in her head: she said that she would find a way out of Petalburg Woods by herself and that was exactly what she was going to do.

"Well, I guess there's no point in worrying about Misty for now. It's time to start looking for a route out of here." May stated to herself, with a confident smile slowly coming to her face. She then grabbed out her four Pokeballs from her bag containing her Pokemon. "Come on out, everyone!" May said, throwing the Pokeballs up into the air, which opened and released Torchic, Azurill, Ralts and Wurmple. Once all of them were out and on the grass in front of her, May bent down to her Pokemon's height as they all looked up at her. "Everyone, we're going to go look for a way out of Petalburg Woods." May said. The four Pokemon started to cheer hearing this, but then an expression of concern came to Azurill's face when she noticed that she couldn't see Ash, Misty or Brock around.

"(Miss May? Where are Mr. Ash, Miss Misty and Mr. Brock? Aren't they coming with us?)" Azurill worriedly asked. Torchic turned her head to her friend hearing this, and then she nodded in agreement realising she was right. "(Yeah, that's right. Where'd they go?)" Torchic asked.

May stared in surprise hearing this, and then she showed a nervous smile as she didn't want to bring up the argument she and Misty just had. "Well... we decided that maybe we could split up to find a way out, and I suggested that I look for a way out on my own. But don't worry; when we find the exit, I'm sure that Ash, Brock and Misty will be there waiting for us." May explained. That seemed to do the job because her four Pokemon all showed bright smiles and nodded in understanding. "Great! So then, let's get a move on, shall we?" May asked. With this, her Pokemon cheered in unison, feeling ready to get going, so May stood up and started to walk off ahead while her Pokemon followed behind her.

As May was walking down the grassy path with her four Pokemon following beside her, she looked around with an expression of awe seeing just how big the forest around her. "Wow... just look how big this forest is. It really seems like it would be easy for someone to get lost in here." May commented to herself. She then jumped as soon as she caught her own words and quickly covered her mouth as an expression of worry came to her face. _'Wait... did I just say that? It couldn't be possible for me to get myself lost, right? Or at least, more lost than I already was to begin with? What if I can't find a way out, and Ash and the others leave me behind?' _As these worries came to May's head and she found herself starting to shake slightly, that was when she heard Ash's words echo in her mind: he had gotten lost several times while he was travelling with Brock and Misty, but they always managed to find their way in the end. As she remembered this, May felt a bright smile come to her face and she nodded in confirmation. "That's right; Ash said that he always found his way when he got lost, so I'm sure I'll be able to do the same thing too. There's no time to waste worrying; I'll just focus on finding a way out!" May stated, clenching a fist as she had her objective firm and clear in her head.

With this, she resumed walking again, but then a bush beside her started to shake and May turned her glance with an expression of surprise to see what was hiding. The bush shook for a few seconds before a small Pokemon poked out from behind it: it was a small, mushroom shaped Pokemon that had cream coloured skin, green spots on its body and a small opening on the top of its head, along with frilled segments overlapping its green underside that were round and it had small round feet. "What sort of Pokemon is that?" May asked, as she grabbed out her Pokedex to find out.

"Shroomish, the Mushroom Pokemon. Shroomish is mild tempered and inhabits piles of rotting leaves inside of forests." The Pokedex explained. As May looked at the entry, she turned her glance back up to notice that Shroomish was looking around at its surroundings for a few moments before it started to hop off ahead. "Shroomish, wait! Come back!" May called as the Shroomish hopped away. Without a moment to spare, May started to give chase after it.

Back with Ash, Brock and Misty, the three of them had already gone off ahead and Ash was looking around for any sign of May. "May? May? Where are you?" Ash called, cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice would be louder for her to hear him. "(May? May!)" Pikachu called out, attempting to assist Ash with his search. But as Ash looked around, he could hear no response from May and he let out a sigh of dismay. "This is no good; she can't hear me..." he sighed. Pikachu could only look at his friend in concern, seeing how worried he was feeling about May. Brock caught sight of this as well, and he walked over to Ash and placed a hand on his shoulder with a comforting smile, while the latter looked up at him.

"Hey, don't worry, Ash. Wherever May has gone to, I'm sure we'll be able to find her. She has all of her Pokemon too, so I'll bet she's fine." Brock explained. Ash showed a bright smile at this support and nodded; he had known Brock long enough to know that he was telling the truth about things like that, and he knew that Brock was never one to lie about his support. Misty was watching this in silence and then she looked down as she started to think about what she said to May and if she was alright, but then she shook her head with a firm expression coming to her face. "Why should I be worrying? We'll manage better without May." Misty stated to herself, unaware that Togepi was starting to feel worried about May as well.

Ash and Brock both turned their heads to Misty as they just heard Misty say something while they weren't paying attention. "Is everything okay, Misty?" Brock asked. Misty nearly jumped from surprise once she realised that they heard her say that and then she showed a nervous smile before rapidly nodded. "Yeah, I'm good." she smiled. Ash and Brock then brightly smiled at this statement and nodded in understanding before turning their heads back to the road in front of them, while Misty showed a firm expression with her decision still clear; as a result of her thoughts about May at the moments, she didn't feel in the mood for looking for her.

Back with May, she was still giving pursuit of Shroomish and she couldn't see any sign of it on the path ahead, so that meant it had probably gone far ahead of her. "Shroomish? Where did you go? I know you're hiding here somewhere." May said, turning her head back and forth to see if she could find any sign of Shroomish hiding in the bushes somewhere. But as she was running, something caught her eye and she stopped in her tracks to notice that just nearby, there was a young woman looking around in the bushes: she had light brown skin, long black hair that was tied up firmly in a bun, bright blue eyes and she was wearing a white research jacket along with a purple t-shirt, black pants and small brown shoes. An expression of surprise came to May upon spotting the young woman and she started to walk over to where she was. "Uh, excuse me?" May asked. The woman nearly jumped from surprise hearing May's voice and turned around to see her walking over before showing a bright smile.

"Oh, hello there! I wasn't expecting to meet anyone else here in these woods. Have you seen a Pokemon named Shroomish?" The young woman asked. May stared in surprise for a few moments before she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I did. I was just chasing one a few moments ago, but I think it already ran off. It must have gone off into the bushes somewhere and now it'll be hard to look for it. These woods are so big, I'm not sure how we'll be able to do that..." May commented, turning her glance and pointing in the direction that she had been chasing Shroomish in before it decided to escape, and then she started to scratch her head as she was wondering how they were even going to be able to find the Shroomish again out in the woods.

"I was afraid I'd hear something like that..." The young woman commented, showing an expression of dismay at this reply. But then that was quickly replaced as she showed a bright smile and shook her head, like she wasn't fazed by that issue. "But that's not a problem at all! I have just the idea to handle this. Poochyena, come out!" she added, before getting a Pokeball out and throwing it, which opened and released a Poochyena that landed safely on the ground. Once it was out, Poochyena turned around to face the woman, who bent down while May watched in silence. "Poochyena, our new partner here said that she spotted a Shroomish in that direction. Do you think you could help us track it down?" The woman asked, pointing in the direction that May said she saw the Shroomish rush off in. Poochyena nodded in understanding, before walking off ahead, placing its nose on the ground while May and the woman followed behind it.

As the two were following Poochyena, May grabbed out her Pokedex to see what Poochyena's entry said. "Poochyena, the Bite Pokemon. Poocheyna's biting strength is superior to other Pokemon, and it has the ability to chase opponents down until it is completely exhausted." The Pokedex explained. May stared at the entry, noticing that Poochyena must have a lot of endurance if it was able to do that, before she placed her Pokedex back in her bag and turned her glance to the young woman showing a smile of awe. "Wow, your Poochyena is amazing! You must have trained it a lot if it can track Pokemon from far away." May commented.

"Thanks. I've had Poochyena with me for a long time. By the way, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. My name's Shelly." The woman replied, showing a bright smile at May's compliment. May nodded in understanding; she really liked that name. "It's nice to meet you, Shelly. I'm May." May replied.

"May, huh? That's a really nice name." Shelly commented. May couldn't help herself giggling a little at Shelly's compliement; she really liked her own name as well. Just then, the two heard rustling from beside them and turned their heads to see a bush shaking. "That sounds like Poochyena managed to find our runaway Shroomish." Shelly said, as she and May turned around to see what was happening. The two watched as the bush shook for a few more seconds before a Shroomish dropped out from behind the bush, having been knocked out, before Poochyena climbed out as well.

"All right! Poochyena found our runaway Shroomish!" May cheered, showing a smile of excitement before jumping up into the air in victory. Shelly showed a bright smile seeing this before she grabbed an empty Pokeball and threw it at Shroomish, which hit it before opening up and Shroomish went inside it in a red light, before the Pokeball closed and landed on the ground and started to shake while May and Shelly watched in silence. After a few seconds, the Pokeball stopped shaking, which meant that Shroomish had been captured. "Yeah, we did it! We caught a Shroomish!" May excitedly cheered. Shelly showed a bright smile noticing that her capture was successful before she walked over and picked up the Pokeball, and then turned around to Poochyena who was watching all the while.

"Thanks for the help, Poochyena." Shelly said. Poochyena showed a bright smile and let out a cheerful bark in reply before Shelly returned it into its Pokeball and she turned around to May who had been watching in silence. "And I should thank you too, May. Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to find the Pokemon I was looking for." Shelly added. May showed an expression of surprise at this and then a bright smile came to her face and she started to rub the back of her head.

"Oh... thanks, Shelly. It was really nothing, to be honest. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find Shroomish myself, considering that I really don't have much of an idea of where I am out here." May nervously explained. Shelly simply showed a bright smile at May's modesty and then she started to walk off ahead while May quickly followed behind her to catch up before the two were walking side by side. "Say, Shelly? I didn't really get a chance to ask you this earlier, but how come you're all the way out here in Petalburg Woods?" May asked, turning her glance to Shelly with an expression of puzzlement as she was wondering why she was out in the woods as well.

Shelly turned her head to May with an expression of surprise at this question and then she showed a bright smile, as she was more than willing to answer that. "Oh, that's right! I haven't told you, have I? Isn't that rude of me? I'm out here helping with research; I'm actually one of the researchers from the Devon Corporation." Shelly explained.

"The Devon Corporation?" May asked. She then looked down to think as she was wondering where she had heard of that before, before she pictured the picture of Rustboro City in her guidebook. "You mean like the building in Rustboro City?" May then asked, turning her head back up to Shelly just to be sure that she had the right place in mind. Shelly showed a bright smile and nodded; that was indeed the case. "Wow, that's great! Then that means you must have helped with making the PokeNav, like the one I have." May happily commented showing a big smile of awe, before opening her bag up and showing Shelly her PokeNav. Shelly had a look down at the device in question and showed a smile of awe before grabbing it from May to have a look at it for herself.

"So this is the PokeNav, huh? It looks so amazing." Shelly commented. She then pressed the blue button on the centre of the device, causing it to open up and reveal the screen showing the map which lit up, showing the area of Petalburg Woods which was indicated by a large dark green patch on the map, along with a blue dot blinking to show where she and May currently were. "We can see where we are on this. I didn't have any idea that the PokeNav could do things like this!" Shelly happily commented, staring at the screen with a smile of awe while May watched her in puzzlement, wondering what exactly was going on with her.

"Uh, Shelly? Is everything okay?" May asked. Shelly nearly jumped in surprise upon hearing this and then she turned around to May and showed a smile before quickly nodding. "Yeah, I'm alright. I was just having a look at your PokeNav to see what you could do on it. I have to say, May, you really take good care of your PokeNav." Shelly replied, handing the PokeNav back to May, to which May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. Just then, May heard her stomach start to grumble and looked up at Shelly.

"I'm starting to feel hungry. Do you think we could stop to have a snack?" May asked. Shelly showed an expression of surprise at this, before she heard her stomach grumble as well and then showed a nervous smile before nodding in agreement with that idea. "Yeah, that sounds good to me; I've been out here for a while now." Shelly replied. May quickly showed a bright smile at this and jumped up in excitement.

"That's great! We just need to find something we want to eat." May said. Shelly had a look around the area they were standing at and a smile crossed her face when she saw that on the trees around them, there were apples hanging on the branches. "Hey, May, look! I think I found something to eat." Shelly said. May showed an expression of surprise to see Shelly pointing up at the trees, and looked up with her to notice the apples hanging on the branches above their heads, and a bright smile quickly crossed her face.

"All right! There's no time to waste. Come on out, Ralts! Help us get those apples!" May said as she grabbed out one of her Pokeballs and threw it, which opened and released Ralts who landed safely on the ground in front of them. Once she was out, Ralts turned her head up to the apples and as she stared up at them, the apples lifted off the branches and floated down onto the ground in front of May and Shelly; Ralts had been using her powers to bring the apples down to them. "Thanks, Ralts. Now what do you say to getting everyone else out to eat as well?" May asked. Ralts showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; that sounded like a great idea to her. So without any hesitance, May grabbed out her other three Pokeballs and threw them up into the air. "Come on out, everyone! It's snack time!" May cheered. The Pokeballs then opened, releasing Torchic, Azurill and Wurmple while Shelly grabbed out two Pokeballs.

"Come on, Poochyena and Carvanha! May got us a good snack." Shelly said, throwing the two Pokeballs out, which released Poochyena and a fish Pokemon whose body was dark blue on the top half and bright red on the bottom half with a yellow star symbol on the bottom half, and it also had two yellow dorsal fins above its eyes that resembled shark fins, a matching pelvic fin on its belly and pectoral fins that were also yellow. As May looked at Carvanha in surprise, she grabbed out her Pokedex to find out what it said. "Carvanha, the Savage Pokemon. Carvanha has powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth able to chew through solid steel. Carvanha will form packs and attack any invaders in its territory." The Pokedex explained. May stared at the entry in surprise for a few moments before she looked down at the Pokemon around her and Shelly.

"Come on, everyone. Let's eat!" May happily stated. With this, the Pokemon started to cheer and jumped up in the air in excitement while May and Shelly watched with matching bright smiles.

Back with Ash, Brock and Misty, the three of them were still searching for May, though it seemed more like Ash and Brock were doing the searching while Misty simply watched. "May? May? Where are you?" Ash called, turning his head back and forth to try and look for any sight of her. Pikachu had been doing the same thing, but he wasn't getting any results. Ash turned his head to Brock while he was calling for May as well. "May, are you there? Just let us know so we know where you are!" Brock called. However, he wasn't getting any response either as there was nothing but silence around them.

"I don't get it. Where could May have gone off to?" Ash asked. Brock turned his head to Ash and then looked down to think; he was feeling just as clueless about this as Ash was. "I'm not sure either. But wherever she could be, I'm sure she'll be fine. I'm sure we'll find her." Brock replied. Ash slowly showed an expression of worry as he was wondering where May could be, and Brock's answer to his question didn't really do much to ease his worries. He then looked down at the small daisy May had been wearing, and he had been holding onto it since it fell out of her hair when she ran away. "May..." Ash quietly said to himself, his worry slowly building inside him by the minute. Pikachu watched his friend in concern; he could tell how worried Ash was getting wondering where May was, and if they would be able to find her. After a few seconds, Ash lifted his head up and turned around to Misty, who had been looking away the entire time they were walking. "Misty, aren't you worried about May too?" Brock asked, turning his head to her upon noticing that she wasn't doing much to help with the search. Misty had her eyes closed during this and once she heard Brock ask that, she opened one eye and an expression of annoyance came to her face.

"No... why would I be?" Misty asked in response, turning her head away while she was asking that. Ash and Brock then both stopped walking and turned around to Misty. "Hey, Misty, I know you're upset about the fact that we haven't been able to find a way out of Petalburg Woods yet, but I don't think taking it out on May wasn't that necessary." Brock explained. Misty's eyes quickly snapped open upon hearing this and then she showed an expression of irritation.

"What do you mean, it wasn't necessary? May hasn't done anything to help us find a way out the entire time we've been here!" Misty snapped. Ash could only stare in shock hearing this and an expression of anger came to his face while Pikachu watched in worry; his patience with Misty had finally been worn thin after hearing her say things like that about May. "And since when did that give you any right to yell at May like that?" Ash asked in response; he still remembered clearly how Misty had called May a burden, something that Ash clearly didn't stand for at all.

"Well, if any one of us was going to say it, it had to be me! Someone had to tell May that she wasn't getting us anywhere!" Misty snapped. "But you didn't have to say it to her the way you did! Was it really necessary to call May a burden when she's been anything but that?" Ash snapped back in response; while he had been calm and reasonable with Misty when she got upset at him, this was where he drew the line; he wasn't going to stand for Misty saying things about May that weren't true, regardless of whether or not it was done out of her own frustration at their current predicament.

"Well, it's true and you know it, Ash! Any time that May has tried to help, she's just made things worse! If you ask me, I think she's helped quite enough; we can do just fine without her." Misty sharply stated, turning away with her arms crossed; it was clear to see that she wasn't going to change her mind anytime soon. Ash could only stare in shock while Brock was simply watching the argument; he didn't want to step in out of fear of unintentionally making things worse than they already were. Ash was silent for a few moments before he slowly clenched his fists out of anger, while Pikachu watched with an expression of worry. "(Ash?)" Pikachu worriedly asked, seeing that his friend was worked up after arguing with Misty about this. He was then met with a surprise when Ash turned his head to him.

"Come on, Pikachu. We're going to go look for May." Ash stated, in a firm tone of voice that Pikachu rarely heard from him. Pikachu was silent before an expression of determination crossed his face and he promptly nodded in agreement. As Ash started to walk off with Brock and Misty turning their heads to watch him, Misty then showed an expression of concern before she put a hand next to her mouth.

"Ash, where are you going? You could get lost out here!" Misty called. Ash stopped in his tracks for a few moments before he slowly turned around to Misty. "And how do we know that May couldn't be in the same situation?" Ash asked in response. Misty let out a gasp of shock upon hearing this question, realising that she didn't stop to think about the fact that May could possibly be lost in the woods, with no idea of how to find the rest of the group. As Misty was left staring in shock, Ash showed a firm expression before he continued. "I don't know if you stopped to think about this, Misty, but May's out there and I don't think she has any idea of where we were or if we're looking for her. So I don't care what you think about her, I'm going to go look for her and we'll find out a way out of here together. If you guys are willing to join me, you're more than welcome. But in the meantime, Misty... I suggest you think about what you just did." With this, Ash turned around and started to walk off while Brock and Misty watched in stunned silence before looking at each other.

"Ash, wait for us!" Brock called before he and Misty stated to follow after him to catch up. As they were running after Ash, Misty had her glance down in shame; she was thinking about the harsh words she had said to May before all of this happened.

"_If there's anyone to blame for all of this, it's you!"_

"_It's like you have no idea of where we are!"_

"_You know what you are, May? You're nothing but a burden; you've just been holding us back!"_

The second Misty heard her own words reflect back at her, she could feel her eyes start to fill with tears; she couldn't believe that she had actually said things like that to May, and the fact that she was so harsh on the brunette made her feel like her heart was tearing inside. She and May had become close friends in the short amount of time they had been travelling together so far, and yet she had the gall to go and do something like this; she now really hated herself for having done what she did to May. "I don't believe it... What have I done?" Misty asked, her voice barely above a whisper as the realization of the repercussions of her actions hit her hard. She had always heard that small actions had big consequences, and nowhere was that more true than her situation now; because of her harsh words, she had caused one of her friends to run away. After taking a few seconds to think about she would do, Misty brushed her tears away and she started to run to catch up with Ash and Brock.

'_May... wherever you had decided to run off to, I hope you're okay. I don't care how long it takes us, we'll find you and I'm going to make things right; I didn't mean to place the blame on you, and it was wrong of me to do that. But while we're still trying to find you, I hope you're making sure you're alright, May!' _Misty thought to herself with a firm expression on her face; as soon as they found May, the first thing she was going to do was apologize for her behaviour, because she knew that it wasn't right to say those things to May.

Back with May and Shelly, the two had finished their afternoon snack and they were continuing their trek side by side. "So you're actually a new arrival at the Devon Corporation? Then that would explain how you didn't know much about my PokeNav." May commented. Shelly showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"That's right. I actually just started working at the Devon Corporation recently, and I've really enjoyed the time I was there so far. The President of the Corporation asked me to look for some Pokemon to help with some future developments that we're working on, and one of the Pokemon was a Shroomish. And since I knew that Shroomish usually hide out in Petalburg Woods, I came here. I didn't expect to run into you here, though, May. I can't wait for you to come visit when we get to Rustboro City!" Shelly happily commented. May had been listening intently with a bright smile, and then she nodded in agreement; she was looking forward to visiting the Devon Corporation as well, and she was hoping that she would be able to do that after Ash's battle against the Gym Leader. As the two came to a reclusive area to the woods, Shelly stopped in her tracks and started to look around, while May showed an expression of surprise.

"Shelly, what's wrong?" May asked. She didn't get any response as Shelly looked around for a few moments, trying to see if there was anyone around. Sure enough, Shelly spotted someone just up ahead and let out a gasp of shock, to which May looked at her in concern. "What's the matter? Did you see someone?" May asked. She was then met with a surprise as Shelly rushed over towards a bush, grabbing May by the arm and dragging her behind her.

"May, get down!" Shelly quickly stated. The two took cover behind a bush and poked their heads up to notice a couple of brown skinned men wearing white and bright blue striped t-shirts, light blue shorts with a black belt tied around them along with white and blue striped socks, with black shoes that had a dark blue stripe on the middle, black gloves and black bandanas with a white A symbol tied around their heads. The two both had a look around the area before they both turned around to face each other.

"I don't see her around her either. We've been searching these woods for at least a few hours now and we still have no sign for her!" One of the two grunts commented. His partner didn't seem to be thrilled with this as an expression of irritation came to his face. "Well then, let's split up and search different areas! She has to be around here somewhere; she can't hide out in these woods forever." The second grunt explained. The two then nodded in confirmation, seemingly agreeing with the plan before they both started to walk off in different directions to have a look around the area of the woods. From their hiding place, May and Shelly both watched this before they ducked their heads down, Shelly letting out a sigh of relief and May having an expression of puzzlement on her face.

"Oh, that was close. It looks like they still haven't found me." Shelly commented. "Who are those guys, Shelly? And why are they looking for you?" May quietly asked, trying to keep her voice down so the grunts wouldn't hear her and she had an expression of puzzlement as she was trying to understand what was going on. Shelly poked her head up from the bush to see the grunts while May looked with her.

"Those two are part of a crime organisation called Team Aqua. I don't really know much about them, but I do know that they have plans for the resources at the Devon Corporation, and they're looking for researchers to help them with their plans. Since I'm working at the Corporation as well, they came out looking for me so they could force me to help them." Shelly explained. May let out a gasp of shock upon hearing all of this, and then she looked down to think about why part of that name sounded familiar to her.

"Team Aqua, huh? I'll bet they're helping that other crime organisation I ran into, Team Magma." May commented. Shelly turned her head to May upon hearing this with an expression of surprise and then quickly poked her head down so the grunts wouldn't notice her. "You know about Team Magma, May?" she quietly asked. May turned her glance up to Shelly and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I do. I ran into them while I was at Oldale Town." May replied; she still remembered how she and Ash battled against a few of the Magma Grunts when they were trying to get into the Oldale Ruins. "Team Magma and Team Aqua are actually sworn enemies; the teams were both established with different goals in mind and since they both conflicted with the other team, the two teams have been at each others' throats trying to fulfil their respective goals." Shelly explained. May nodded in understanding as she listened to this, and then an expression of puzzlement crossed her face as she was wondering about something.

"But... what do Team Aqua want with the Devon Corporation?" May asked. "Since the Devon Corporation is the head of technological advances in the Hoenn Region, Team Aqua wants to use their resources to forward their own plans. I don't really have any idea of what their plans are, but I do know that they'll stop at nothing to succeed in finding the resources they need and that includes the researchers working there, such as myself." Shelly explained, looking down with an expression of worry as she wasn't sure of how to get the Team Aqua grunts off her tail. May was staring in silence as she listened to this, and she showed a supportive smile as she started to get an idea of what to do about this.

"Don't worry about a thing, Shelly." May softly said. Shelly turned her glance up to May in surprise, wondering what her idea was. "I'll make sure those Team Aqua grunts don't find you. If they decide to come chasing after us, I'll battle them and make sure you have enough time to get away safely. You can trust me on that!" May explained, showing a confident smile and giving a thumb up as she seemed to know what she was doing. Shelly stared in surprise for a few moments before she slowly showed a bright smile, glad to hear that May was here to help her.

"Thank you so much, May. I'm really glad I had a chance to meet you and I'm glad to hear that you're willing to help me out at a time like this. I know for sure that everyone at the Devon Corporation will be very grateful that they have someone like you keeping them safe." Shelly happily commented. May showed a bright smile at this and she could feel her cheeks start to glow red from embarrassment; she felt that Shelly was giving her too big of an honour. The two then poked their heads out from behind the bush to see that the grunts were nowhere to be soon. "It looks like they must have gone off further ahead. Now's our chance to get out of here!" Shelly said, looking around to see that everything seemed to be clear before turning her glance back to May. May turned to Shelly and nodded in agreement, so the two then stood up from behind the bush and started to make their way down the road, looking around to make sure none of the grunts could be hiding anywhere in the area. "So, May, are you sure you'll be able to handle battling Team Aqua on your own? I might not know much about them, but I do know that they have powerful Pokemon on their teams." Shelly said, showing an expression of concern as she was wondering how May would be able to manage battling against the Grunts they would run into. May turned her head to Shelly and showed a confident smile; she already had an idea to counter that.

"It's alright, Shelly. I won't be battling them alone; I'll have my friends to help me." May replied. Shelly showed a bright smile hearing that May wasn't by herself out here and that she had friends to help her out. "We got separated while trying to find a way out, but I'm sure we'll be able to find them if we're looking together. They'll be sure to help us once they learn what's going on!" May happily commented. She had to admit that she felt a bit worried about facing Misty, but she was sure that Misty would still be willing to help once she learnt about what Shelly was trying to manage. Shelly had been listening intently to this and then she happily nodded in agreement.

"Well then, what are we waiting for, May? Let's find them!" Shelly stated. May nodded in agreement with a big smile, so the two girls started to rush off to look for Ash and the others. While they were running, Shelly showed a confident smile to herself and then she pulled her coat sleeve back to reveal what seemed to be a wrist communicator and turned it on to show a picture of one of the grunts. "Grunts, we're all set to go!" Shelly whispered, making sure that May didn't hear her, before she pushed the coat sleeve back and she picked up her pace to catch up with May.

Back with Ash, Brock and Misty, the three were still looking around for May and they hadn't had much success. "May, where are you? Please let us know where you are!" Ash called, showing an expression of immense worry as he was the most worried about where May could be. "May? Are you there?" Misty asked. "(May!)" Pikachu called from where he was sitting on Ash's shoulder. "May? May, are you there?" Brock asked. Misty showed an expression of worry realising that their search had been fruitless so far and she looked down in shame while Togepi looked up at her in worry.

"Oh, Togepi, this is all my fault. If I hadn't said those things to May, none of this would have happened. If we ever find her, I promise that I'll apologize to her." Misty quietly said, turning her glance up to the now evening sky, wondering where May could be and if she was okay. She then let out a quiet sigh as she lowered her head, feeling like she was the one responsible for this whole mess. But then suddenly, a voice that the three thought they wouldn't hear again rang into their ears.

"Shelly, look! There they are!" Ash, Brock and Misty all showed expressions of surprise upon hearing this and they looked at each other, wondering if their ears were playing tricks on them. They then turned their heads to the left, as that was where the voice came from, and they were met with the most wonderful sight: there was May, safe and sound, and she was running over to them with a big smile and she was happily waving to them. "Hey, guys! Sorry I made all you worry!" May called as she ran towards them with Shelly following behind her. The group of three all stared in shock for a few moments, wondering if they were seeing this, before bright smiles slowly crossed their faces; sure enough, it was May in front of them.

"May, there you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Brock commented. "We've been so worried about you!" Misty happily exclaimed, waving to May while Togepi let out a happy chirp. Ash could only stare in amazement seeing May running towards them, and then a smile of immense relief crossed his face to see her, completely unharmed in the time she had been away from them. As soon as May came to the group, she stopped in her tracks and bent down to catch her breath before she turned her head up to them.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I've been away for such a while, but there's something I have to tell you about." May said. Before she could continue, she was caught by surprise when she saw Ash run over to her and throw his arms around her tightly in an embrace, causing her to take a few steps back from surprise. "Ash, are you okay?" May asked. She turned her glance to see that he had a big smile of relief on his face, as he was very relieved to see that she was alright.

"Yeah, I'm alright, May. But...I'm so glad you're okay! I was starting to worry that something might have happened to you and we would never see you again." Ash explained, holding May close to him as he didn't want to let her go, while Pikachu simply watched him with a big smile. May could only stare in stunned silence seeing this, and then a bright smile crossed her face before she returned Ash's embrace, as she was just as happy to be back with him, Brock and Misty; she didn't want to be anywhere but with them. After a few seconds, Ash let go of her and then he showed her an open hand with the daisy that she had been wearing in her palm. "You dropped this when you ran off, and I've been holding onto it until we found you." Ash said. May stared at the daisy in surprise, as she didn't even notice that she lost it, before a bright smile came to her face, and then she picked the daisy up from Ash's hand and placed it back behind her ear just the way she had it. The two then brightly smiled at each other while Brock and Misty watched this as well, Brock with a big smile and Misty with an expression of disbelief at what she had just witnessed. However, this quiet moment was interrupted when Shelly finally spoke up.

"Well, this has been quite a lovely display. I hate to be the one to ruin this touching reunion, but we have business to take care of." Shelly stated. She then showed a smirk as she noticed that the grunts were coming in their direction. "Shelly, look out! The Team Aqua grunts will catch you." May warned, showing an expression of shock as she pointed behind Shelly while the others stared in surprise, wondering what exactly was going on. Shelly then let out a chuckle as she then walked over to Ash and the others while the two grunts stopped right beside her.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, May, but I should say that they'll capture you and your friends. I'm actually surprised you managed to buy the fact that I was a Devon Researcher." Shelly commented. May showed an expression of alarm, wondering exactly what was going on. "Wha... what do you mean?" she quietly asked.

Her question was answered as Shelly took a few steps backwards so she was standing beside the Team Aqua grunts. "I think it's time you learnt the truth, May. You might have known me as a simple researcher, but in actuality, my true identity is..." Shelly then threw off her research coat to reveal that she was wearing grey goggles on her head, a dark blue long sleeved shirt that had a light blue centre along with a white A symbol, dark blue pants with a light blue patch in the middle and a gold belt hanging around them along with matching shoes, and her hair was now hanging down freely revealing two light blue streaks at the front. "I am Shelly, one of the Admins of Team Aqua!" Shelly announced, placing one hand on her hip and holding her other hand up in the air while Ash and the others watched in shock, May in particular.

"Team Aqua?" Ash asked, having no idea of what was going on. "You're an Admin?" May asked from shock. Misty quickly showed a glare and pointed at Shelly. "So you were tricking May all this time, weren't you?" she snapped, while May could only stare in shock at the fact that she had deceived this whole time. Shelly showed a confident smile and let out a giggle as she nodded.

"It was quite a convincing ruse, if I say so myself. You see, I was looking for someone who would be willing to help me get to Rustboro City. And when I saw May by herself, I knew that I had found my target. But I decided that I should play it safe, so I disguised myself as a Devon Researcher so she would be more than willing to help me with my plans to get to Rustboro City and find the Devon Corporation. It was actually hard for me to believe that she fell for it so easily, but I just considered that a bonus!" Shelly explained. She then walked over to May and placed a finger under her chin to lift her head up so she was looking her in the eyes. "And to think, you fell right into my trap so easily." Shelly commented.

May stared in silence before an expression of determination came to her face and she slapped Shelly's hand away, much to the latter's surprise. "You may have been able to fool me with your ruse, but you're no match for us! We outnumber you four to three!" May stated, turning to the others as they walked over to stand with her.

"May's right! It should be no trouble to take you all down!" Misty firmly agreed, with Togepi showing an expression of determination and letting out a chirp as she was ready to go. "You'll regret the day you decided to mess with us!" Brock added, with the others looked over at him in surprise seeing him getting this serious, before they turned their attention back to Shelly, ready to battle her and the grunts. Shelly let out a sigh before she brushed her hair to the back with her hand and then she showed a confident smile.

"All right then, let's see what you've got! No one who crosses Team Aqua receives any mercy. Bring it on! Go, Poochyena and Carvanha!" Shelly replied, before she threw out her two Pokeballs which opened and released her two Pokemon, who landed on the grass while the two grunts standing beside her released their Pokemon as well: a Zubat and a Grimer respectively. With this, Ash and the others started to get the Pokemon they would use out as well.

"Riolu, I choose you!" Ash stated, throwing out his Pokeball.

"Starmie, come on out!" Misty said, throwing her Pokeball out.

"Let's go, Ralts! Show them what you've got!" May added, throwing her Pokeball up into the air.

"Come on out, Forretress!" Brock finished, throwing his Pokeball into the ring. With this, the four Pokeballs opened releasing Riolu, Starmie, Ralts and Forretress respectively, all of whom landed on grass ready to start to battling.

"You ready, guys?" Ash asked, turning his head to the others, all of whom nodded in agreement. With this, Ash turned his head up to the battle area. "All right then, let's go!" Ash announced, pointing out to their opponents, to which the Pokemon started to charge forward while the opposing Pokemon quickly followed suit. "All right, Riolu, use Quick Attack!" Ash called, pointing out at the Poochyena to start things off. With this, Riolu charged forward towards Poochyena and slammed into it, sending it flying backwards and landing on the grass before it jumped back up on its feet. As this was happening, Ralts turned her attention to Grimer who glared at her.

"Ralts, use Confusion!" May said. Misty then stepped beside her to help her out. "And Starmie, use Psybeam!" Misty added. May showed an expression of surprise and then the two brightly smiled at each other; they were willing to put their earlier argument aside so they could help each other out for this battle. With this, Ralts sent out small purple psychic waves while Starmie shot out a blast of energy from its jewel, with both attacks hitting Grimer directly and sending it flying backwards and slamming into one of the Aqua Grunts, knocking both of them out. Once May and Misty saw this, they leapt up into the air in victory. "All right!" The two cheered in unison before turning to each other and high-fiving, while Ralts showed a bright smile and jumped up in excitement.

Meanwhile, Brock was directing Carvanha as his target. "Forretress, use Rapid Spin!" he said, pointing towards Carvanha. With this, Forretress closed himself into his shell and started to spin rapidly towards Carvanha. "Oh no, you don't! Carvanha, use Water Pulse!" Shelly snapped, unwilling to back down that easily. With this, Carvanha shot out a strong pulse of water from its mouth, which Forretress effortlessly broke through before slamming into it and sent it flying backwards and getting the fin at the top of its body stuck in a tree nearby while Shelly watched in horror. Brock showed a bright smile at that success while Forretress bounced over to him.

"Great job, Forretress!" Brock happily commented. Forretress started to bounce up and down in delight, but then they were met with a shock as Carvanha charged towards them and slammed into Forretress and sent him flying backwards. Luckily, Ash took notice of this and turned his head to Pikachu. "I'll be right there to help! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said. With this, Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and released a strong bolt of electricity which hit Carvanha directly and sent it dropping onto the ground, knocked out.

"Carvanha, no!" Shelly gasped, looking down in horror to see this. Ash showed a bright smile at this and looked down at Pikachu. "Great job, Pikachu!" Ash happily cheered while Pikachu turned his head to him showing a bright smile at his victory.

While this was happening, Ralts found that she was being cornered by Poochyena who was growling at her. As Poochyena charged towards Ralts, who let out a gasp of alarm before turning her head away, it turned its glance to see Riolu there, who charged up a blue ball of energy between his paws before firing it at Poochyena, hitting it and sending it tumbling backwards. "(Maybe that should show you what happens when you try to harm Ralts!)" Riolu snapped. He then showed an expression of concern seeing Ralts shaking in fear and walked over to her, to which she looked up to see him gently smiling at her. "(Are you okay, Ralts? You aren't hurt, are you?)" Riolu gently asked. Ralts slowly showed a bright smile and nodded.

"(Yes, I'm alright. Thanks, Riolu.)" Ralts replied. Riolu showed a smile of relief at this, but then Ralts turned her glance up and let out a gasp of shock. "(Look out!)" Ralts quickly warned, pointing up. Riolu turned around to see what was up, and he was met with Zubat flying right towards him. Before Riolu could get a chance to react, Ralts pushed him out of the way before sending out small purple psychic waves that hit Zubat, confusing it as it started to fly all over the place having no idea of where it was going. "(That should teach you a lesson! No one tries to hurt Riolu and get away with it!)" Ralts snapped. She then turned her glance to see Riolu getting back up on his feet and ran over to see if he was okay. "(Are you alright?)" she asked, showing an expression of concern. Riolu shook his head rapidly before turning his head to Ralts, showing a smile and nodded.

"(I'm okay. Thanks for the save.)" Riolu replied; this meant they were both even in terms of rescuing each other. Ralts showed a bright smile at this and then the two started to make their way back to the battlefield to see if the others needed help. With Zubat, it was flying all over the place and slamming into the trees around the area, to which Ralts and Riolu turned their heads to notice and they couldn't help themselves giggling at the display. "(It looks like someone is feeling a bit dazed.)" Ralts cheekily commented. Zubat quickly shook its head to see Riolu and Ralts laughing at it, and then it started to charge towards to the two much to their surprise.

Luckily, Misty noticed this and was quick to take action. "Starmie, use Water Pulse!" Misty called. With this, Starmie shot out a strong pulse of water towards Zubat, hitting it before it could get a chance to react and sending it flying before it slammed into a tree and dropped onto the ground knocked out. Having watched this, Riolu and Ralts saw this as their chance before running back out into the battlefield, joining the others as they all stared at Shelly with their Trainers following suit.

"Well, Shelly, it looks we have you cornered. You only have one Pokemon left while we have our four here, still ready to battle. What do you say to giving up with dignity?" Ash asked, showing a confident smile as he and the others had the upper hand with this battle. Shelly started to growl under her breath as she glared at the group with Poochyena in front of her.

"You may have taken out my grunts, but I still have one more plan up my sleeve. Are you ready, Poochyena?" Shelly asked, looking down at the little Pokemon in front of her. With this, Poochyena let out a howl before it started to glow bright white, much to the group's shock. "That can't be a good thing... I think Poochyena's evolving!" Misty worriedly commented. Shelly showed a confident smile; she had been waiting for this day for a while. As the group watched, Poochyena's claws grew in length, its body and ear size became bigger and it slowly grew in size. As the white light faded, standing in Poochyena's place was a Mightyena. May showed an expression of worry upon seeing the Mightyena, while Ash grabbed out his Pokedex to find out what kind of Pokemon this was.

"Mightyena, the Bite Pokémon. Mightyena is the evolved form of Poochyena. They move primarily in packs, working together to capture their prey." The Pokedex explained. Ash stared at the entry before turning his glance up to the Mightyena. "Well, I guess that means Mightyena must be really strong." Ash nervously commented. May stared at the Mightyena for a few moments before an expression of alarm crossed her face; she remembered the last time she came face to face with a Mightyena. It was when she was on her way to Professor Brich's lab and she was chased relentlessly by three, all of them working together in a pack. As the memory of being chased flashed before her eyes, May screamed in panic and quickly hid behind Ash while the others looked at her in surprise.

"No, not a Mightyena! Please keep it away from me!" May cried as she started to shake in fear. As the others looked at her in surprise, wondering what had gotten into her, Shelly showed a confident smirk seeing May this frightened.

"Well, it looks like I managed to find your weakness, May. I'm guessing you've come into contact with a Mightyena in the past. Let's see how well your Pokemon manage against my new Mightyena. Mightyena, show them what you can do!" Shelly said, pointing to the group watching this on. With this, Mightyena growled at the group before letting out a loud howl that startled Ash, the others and their Pokemon, and then it started to charge forward, to which the others barely had time to move out of the way.

"Let's go, everyone! We'll be able to take that Mightyena with all of our Pokemon working together." Ash said with an expression of determination showing on his face as he was ready for this new opponent. With this, everyone gathered together including the Pokemon, ready to go as Mightyena glared at them. With this, Ash turned to Pikachu, ready to start this off like last time. "All right, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and released a strong bolt of electricity, which Mightyena quickly rushed out of the way and the bolt struck the ground instead. "That Mightyena is fast!" Ash exclaimed, staring in amazement.

"We'll see about that! Starmie, use Rapid Spin!" Misty replied, pointing towards Mightyena. "You too, Forretress!" Brock added. With this, Starmie and Forretress started to spin rapidly and charged towards Mightyena, with the two hitting it directly and sending it knocked backwards before it shook its head and looked up, seemingly unfazed by those two attacks aimed at its direction. Starmie and Forretress stared in alarm before rushing off.

While all of this was happening, Ralts could only stare up at Mightyena in worry, shaking in terror as it glared at her. "Look at that; an easy target. Mightyena, use Crunch!" Shelly commented before pointing directly at Ralts. Mightyena slowly opened its mouth to reveal its large fangs and then lunged towards Ralts, ready to take her out right then and there. "(Oh no!)" Ralts cried, jumping from shock before turning her head away, not wanting to look at the onslaught that was awaiting her. While this was happening, the others turned to see this and they all gasped in shock.

"Ralts, no!" May cried. Riolu turned his head to notice this and without any hesitance, he rushed over towards this and pushed Ralts out of the way, leaving him to get bitten down hard by Mightyena. "Riolu!" Ash gasped, showing an expression of shock as he and the others all gasped in alarm seeing this. Ralts slowly got up, dusting herself off from that shove and then she looked up to see this display and she let out a gasp of horror. "(Riolu, no!)" Ralts cried.

As he could feel himself being bitten down on, Riolu slowly opened his eyes to see Ralts standing there watching this. "(It's okay, Ralts... The only thing that matters to me... is that you're safe...)" Riolu said, struggling to breathe underneath the pressure Mightyena's jaws was placing on his body. Ralts watched in horror before she looked up at Mightyena with an expression of anger coming to her face.

"(You let Riolu go, you monster!)" Ralts yelled. Mightyena turned its glance to Ralts and simply glared at her as she stared it down, while Riolu simply watched wondering what was happening. "(Didn't you hear me?! I said: Let... Him... GO!)" Ralts yelled out, loud enough for a pulse of bright purple hearts to suddenly emanate from her mouth which hit Mightyena, causing it to let go of Riolu and drop him onto the ground, and sent it flying backwards and landed on the ground in front of Shelly, and then Mightyena struggled to get up for a few seconds before it collapsed, knocked out.

"No, Mightyena!" Shelly gasped. She then returned Mightyena into its Pokeball before glaring up at Ash and the others. "I don't know how you were able to take down my Mightyena, but your Pokemon must be stronger than I thought. We'll let you go this time, but the next time we meet, I won't be holding back. Grunts, retreat!" Shelly explained, turning her head to the grunts standing behind her before the three of them rushed off while the group watched in silence. Once they were gone, Ash and the others let out sighs of relief.

"Well, that was too close." May commented. The group then turned around and walked over to see Ralts holding Riolu in her arms, as he was unconscious after being attacked by Mightyena like that. "Riolu? Riolu, are you okay?" Ash asked, bending down to check on Riolu with an expression of worry on his face while the others watched with matching worry. Ralts looked down at Riolu with tears filling in her eyes as she remembered how he pushed her out of the way to save her from Mightyena.

"(Riolu... please, no... Please don't leave me...)" Ralts whispered as tears started to stream down her face, with her fearing the worst. But then, the group were met with a wonderful sight: Riolu slowly opened his eyes and turned his glance to see Ralts looking down at him with a bright smile slowly crossing her face.

"(Ralts, what's wrong? You have tears on your face.)" Riolu said, showing an expression of concern seeing Ralts was crying. He then slowly stood up, shaking his head to recover from that attack, but he was suddenly caught off guard as Ralts threw her arms around him tightly, and he could feel her tears stain on his fur. "(Ralts, what's wrong?)" Riolu asked, looking at her in concern.

"(Riolu, you're okay! I was so worried that something had happened to you. I thought I'd never see you again!)" Ralts happily cried; she couldn't be more relieved that Riolu was alright and still standing here with her. Riolu stared at her in silence before a bright smile crossed his face and he wrapped his arms around her as well.

"(It's okay, Ralts. I won't be leaving you anytime soon.)" Riolu gently replied, trying to calm Ralts down. After a few seconds, the two let go before brightly smiling at each other, and then they turned to Ash and the others as they were all watching this as well.

"Wow, Riolu, I can't believe you were able to survive an attack from Mightyena like that!" Ash commented, showing a smile of awe. "And doing it just to protect Ralts; that's heroism if I ever saw it!" Misty agreed with Togepi happily chirping along with her.

"Ralts, I'm so glad to see you're okay." May happily commented. But then, an expression of puzzlement came to her face as she started to wonder what kind of attack that was Ralts just used. She grabbed out her Pokedex and had a look at Ralts's Pokedex entry to find out and an expression of awe came to her face. "Guys, look at this!" May exclaimed. The others gathered to see what it was and saw that in Ralts's moveset, there was a new move: Disarming Voice. "It looks like Ralts learnt a new move just to save Riolu." May commented.

"But have a look at the type of that move." Ash added. May looked back at the Pokedex to see what Ash was talking about and noticed that Ralts's type listed her as not just Psychic, but also... a Fairy Type. "What kind of type is Fairy?" Ash asked, staring in surprise.

"I'm not sure; it looks like that might have been discovered recently." Brock replied. As May had a look at her Pokedex, she could see that Ralts wasn't the only Pokemon with this new type; there was also Azurill and Togepi, with the latter being a pure Fairy Type. May could only stare at her Pokedex in awe, wondering what this meant.

Sometime later, the group were continuing their trek together, with May having filled the others in on what happened while she was by herself. "So Shelly said that Team Aqua are up to some kind of plans that involve the Devon Corporation?" Ash asked. May nodded in confirmation; she had made sure she didn't leave out any details.

"Yeah, that's right. I didn't get much of the details on what's going on, but I did find out that Team Aqua are after the resources that are in Devon Corporation, and that they want to get researchers to help them out in their plans." May added. She then looked down to think, placing a hand under her chin as she was wondering what that all meant. "What do you think Team Aqua could be up to, though?" she asked, with an expression of puzzlement crossing her face.

"Well, whatever it means, we'll probably have another crime organisation to worry about besides Team Rocket." Ash commented. "And if that's true, then we should be on our guard. These guys probably mean business." Brock agreed, to which the others turned their heads to him and nodded in agreement with expressions of determination on their faces. While this was happening, Misty walked over to May as she still had something she wanted to say.

"Uh... May?" Misty asked. May turned her head to Misty with an expression of surprise wondering what was up. "I had a lot of time to think about what I did while we were looking for you and... I wanted to say that..." Misty then bowed her head with an expression of shame while May nearly jumped from surprise. "I'm sorry for all the things I said to you! I was just getting so frustrated about where we are, but that didn't give me any excuse to lash out at you the way I did. I'm really sorry for getting angry at you!" Misty sincerely said.

May stared at her in surprise for a few moments before she showed an expression of shame while Misty lifted her head up to hear what May would say. "Misty... I really should apologize as well. I'm sorry for running off the way I did. If I had just stayed with you guys, I wouldn't have gotten us into the danger we had; I wouldn't have led the Admin of Team Aqua to us. You were right about what you said earlier, Misty. I am nothing but a burden." May explained, before she slowly turned her glance away while Misty stared in shock.

"No, that's not true at all! You aren't a burden at all. The only reason I said that was because I lost control of my temper and lashed out at you when it wasn't the right thing to do. I should have realised that what I was doing was wrong earlier, but instead I let all of this happen. If anyone can be blamed for this, it should be me." Misty replied. May showed an expression of surprise at this and slowly turned back around to see Misty showing her a sincere smile. "You're not a burden, May. You've been the best new friend I could ever ask for." Misty finished, showing a bright smile all the while. She then looked down for a few moments before holding her hand up to offer for a handshake. "Friends again?" she asked.

May stared down at Misty's hand before she slowly showed a bright smile and walked over to Misty before throwing her arms around her in a hug, prompting the latter to show an expression of surprise before a big smile came to her face. "You bet, Misty. It's hard times like this that make friendships all the more worthwhile." May replied. Misty slowly nodded in agreement before wrapping her arms around May as well, while Ash and Brock both watched this and then looked at each other with bright smiles, glad to see that May and Misty had finally put this whole issue behind them.

"You girls ready to get going?" Brock asked. May and Misty both let go and turned to Brock before nodding in agreement, to which the group continued walking, with the two girls smiling at each other. Their next stop would hopefully be finding a way out of Petalburg Woods and after that, they would be on their way to Rustboro City.

Sometime later, night had fallen and a young woman wearing a Team Aqua uniform was talking on a wrist communicator. "I'm afraid I'll have to begin with an apology, Mr. Matt. It isn't very good news; the mission was a no go. A little something came up and got in the way." The woman said. She could then hear the man she was talking to give orders to her from the other end, to which she nodded in understanding. "Got it, will do. I'll continue investigating the energy we detected." The young woman replied. With this, she hung up on her end and had a look in the direction that she saw the four Trainers she came across walk off in a little earlier.

"I have to say, those four really show promise as Trainers. Maybe they could see just the ones I'm looking for..." The young woman commented to herself, with a bright smile slowly coming to her face as an idea started to click in her head.


	12. The Flower Shop Sisters

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 12: The Flower Shop Sisters**

As the sun rose over Petalburg Woods, Ash, May, Brock and Misty were continuing their trek towards Rustboro City after their confrontation with Team Aqua, with the four of them having been wondering what kind of plans the new crime organisation could possibly have in the making. But now wasn't the time for them to dwell on that, as they were busy with focusing on finding a way out of Petalburg Woods, which would be another big step on their road. As the four were walking, a big smile crossed Ash's face when he saw something just ahead. "Hey, guys, look at that!" Ash said, pointing to the path ahead. The others turned their heads to him wondering what was up, and then they turned their glance forward to see that just up ahead was what seemed to be an opening with sunlight poking through. "I think that might be the exit!" Ash commented, while Pikachu cheerfully nodded in agreement. The others all showed bright smiles at this discovery.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go find out for ourselves!" Misty cheered, leaping up in the air in excitement before she started to rush off forward while the others watched in surprise. "Misty, wait for us!" May called as she and the others quickly rushed after her. The four passed through the clearing and were met with a sight they didn't think they hadn't seen in quite a while: the sky was clear blue and there was nothing but open clearing as far as the eye could see.

"Wow, this is great! We finally made it out of Petalburg Woods! Now it's nothing but clear sailing to Rustboro!" Ash cheered, pumping a fist up in the air in excitement while Pikachu promptly followed suit. "(You're right, Ash! What are we waiting for?)" Pikachu agreed.

May and Brock couldn't help themselves smiling in amusement at Ash's excitement and then May turned her glance forward and a bright smile crossed her face when she noticed something. "Hey, guys, look at that! There's a lake just up ahead." May said, pointing forward. The others looked with her to notice that sure enough, there was a large open pool of water stretched out at the area in front of them. "Who's up for some relaxation?" May asked, turning to the others with a big smile. There was no need for second thoughts, because the others all quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I could use some time to relax after all that walking." Misty commented, stretching an arm up into the air so she could get some fatigue out of her system. "And there's nothing more relaxing than going for a swim." Brock agreed. With this, the group set their bags down against a tree behind them and started searching through them to grab their swim gear.

A few minutes later, the group stepped forward ready to go swimming: Ash was wearing a pair of orange shorts with light green and yellow stripes, Misty was wearing a dark red two piece swimsuit and Brock was wearing purple shorts that had light green circle shapes on the sides. Ash was the first to rush over and jump into the lake, with Pikachu following right behind him. Misty walked over carrying Togepi in her arms, who had a small life raft on so she could float on the surface. "You ready for a nice swim in the water, Togepi?" Misty asked, looking down at her little Pokemon with a smile. Togepi looked up at Misty and let out a cheerful chirp while happily clapping. Misty happily giggled seeing that Togepi was ready and then turned her head to Brock, who was standing up on a rock. "Brock, are you coming too?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll be right there. I just need to do a few stretches before I join in." Brock replied. Misty nodded in understanding, so she stepped into the lake and placed Togepi on the surface, with the little Pokemon staying afloat thanks to her life raft, and showed a bright smile as she watched the little Togepi start kicking on the surface to try and start swimming, while Ash swum past with Pikachu sitting on his head. But then, Ash stopped when he noticed that there was someone who hadn't joined them yet.

"Hey, have you guys seen May? She didn't come out to join us yet." Ash said, showing an expression of puzzlement upon realising that May wasn't out with them yet. But then, he turned around and was met with a surprise when he saw May standing behind him ready to join in with them: she was wearing a light yellow bikini with matching small shorts. "Sorry I took so long, guys. I had to make sure I was ready to go. What do you think?" May asked, posing with one hand on her hip to show off her swimsuit. Ash was simply staring in silence while Misty showed a bright smile upon seeing her.

"You look great, May! Come on in, the water feels nice." Misty said. With Ash, he could only stare with a loss of words seeing May in her swimsuit and he felt his face start to burn bright red. Pikachu looked down to notice from sitting on top of Ash's head and then he covered his mouth as he was trying not to laugh seeing his friend's embarrassment. May seemed to notice as well, and a bright smile crossed her face and she couldn't help herself giggling.

"And just what are you so embarrassed about?" she asked. She then looked up, ready to jump into and join the others. "All right, here I come!" With this, May jumped into the air and splashed into the lake, before she popped up from under the surface with a big smile. "Now this feels great!" May cheerfully commented.

At the same time with Brock, he was just finishing with his warm up stretches. "There's nothing like a good warm up before a workout. I'm loose as a goose!" Brock commented. With this, he started to dip one foot into the water before slipping off the rock and splashing into the lake, while Ash, May and Misty turned their heads to see this and couldn't themselves laughing and Brock let out a groan of dismay. While this was happening, the group didn't realise that underwater just below them, there were a group of shadows with lily pads shaped heads and glowing red eyes watching them while they were busy enjoying themselves, and the shadows started to float towards them with the lily heads poking up on the surface. However, the group didn't notice this as they were having a great time.

"Ah, there's nothing like having a nice swim to relax, huh, guys?" May happily asked, showing a bright smile as she turned to the others with Brock floating on the surface on his back, Misty swimming beside Togepi as she drifted on the surface and Ash swum past her with Pikachu sitting on his head. The others all turned their heads to her and cheerfully nodded; they couldn't agree more. As Misty was keeping an eye on Togepi to make sure she wouldn't float away on the lake, she noticed something coming towards them and showed an expression of surprise.

"Hey, guys, look at that!" Misty said, pointing ahead. The others all turned their heads in the direction Misty was pointing in to see what she noticed and they were met with a shock to find a large group of lily pads floating on the surface towards them. May stared down at the lily pads shivering from astonishment before she let out a loud of scream of alarm, to which the others quickly covered their ears. "What are those things?" May worriedly asked.

"I have no idea, but there's a lot of them." Misty replied. Ash stared at the sight for a few seconds before he decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea for them to stick around. "Come on, guys! Let's back to shore quick!" Ash called, quickly turning around to make a run for it while the others soon followed behind him. As May was following after the others, she suddenly felt something grab onto her leg and before she had a chance to react, she was pulled under the water while the others turned their heads to notice this and showed matching expressions of shock.

"May!" Ash gasped. Just then, Misty felt something grab onto her leg before she was pulled underwater as well to which Ash and Brock turned their heads to notice, before they were suddenly pulled down underwater to follow them. As the bubbles cleared, the group slowly opened their eyes and an expression of surprise came to their faces to find that they were surrounded by small blue Pokemon with yellow bill-like mouth and six small legs along with lily pads on the top of their heads, all of them blinking in surprise before they all showed bright smiles and started to cheer while the group watched. There was silence before Ash showed a bright smile and he and Pikachu happily smiled at each other watching this. But then, the group were met with a surprise as the group of Pokemon swum down underneath them and started to gather together in a swarm before swimming straight up and carrying the group with them, sending them flying straight out of the lake into the air before landing on the shore they had set their bags at, landing on the grass. After a few seconds, the group slowly started to sit up as they were trying to recover from that brief flight.

"What was that?" May asked as she was rubbing her head. Ash went to grab his Pokedex from his bag and then he opened it up to find out what sort of Pokemon that was. "Lotad, the Water Weed Pokémon. Lotad inhabit peaceful wetlands, like lakes and ponds." The Pokedex explained. Ash looked down at the entry before he and the others turned their glances up to see the Lotad watching them from floating on the lake's surface poking their heads up. "They all look kind of cute." May commented, as she and the others showed a bright smile. "I think this lake must belong to them." Misty added.

Just then, the Lotad started to jump out of the lake and slowly trotted over to the group, all of them standing in a single file line. As soon as May noticed this, she let out a scream of alarm and quickly ran over to hide behind Ash. "Here they come..." she worriedly said, while the others turned their glances to her with expressions of surprise as they were wondering why she was so worried. Luckily, Ash showed a reassuring smile as he watched her. "Don't worry, May. Those Lotad seem friendly." Ash said, to which Pikachu nodded in agreement. May slowly poked her head up from behind Ash to see that sure enough, the Lotad were all smiling at them.

"Yeah, I think they just want to say hello." Misty agreed. As the group watched, all of the Lotad stood up on their hind legs, turning their heads up to the sky, and started to shoot blasts of water from their mouths into the air that all collided in the air and started to pour down in front of the group like a small rainfall, at which the sunlight's rays reflected off the rainfall to show the image of a rainbow. Ash and the others all watched the display with smiles of awe. "Wow, look at that, guys!" Misty happily commented, while Togepi was happily clapping as she watched the display with a big smile on her face.

"I wonder if they're trying to give us a special welcome." Ash said. As the group were looking on at the display, they noticed something: one of the Lotad in the line was having a hard time keeping up with the others as it was only shooting a small blast of water that barely reached above its head. After a few seconds, the Lotad stopped shooting water which caused the rainfall to slowly fade away, while the one that was struggling didn't seem to catch the memo and was still going, while Ash and the others watched in silence.

"It looks like that little guy needs a bit more firepower." Misty commented. She then caught on with what she just said and started to scratch her head as she was trying to think. "Or rather, I should say water power, because it's a Water type and it can use Water Gun, so..." As Misty was talking, she looked to see the others staring at her in puzzlement, wondering what she was going on about. Once Misty saw that the others had no idea what she was getting at, she then looked down in dismay. "I'll stop now..." she sighed. Brock then showed a smile and walked over to the struggling Lotad.

"Hey, little guy. You know your other friends have been..." Before Brock could get a chance to continue his sentence, Lotad lowered its head to him and the little blast of water it was shooting suddenly became stronger and hit Brock and once it stopped, Brock was completely with his hair standing up on end, to which Lotad stared blankly while it blinked and Ash, May and Misty couldn't help themselves laughing after seeing this. Just then, the sound of a voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Hey, you!" The group all stared in surprise, and then they turned around to see that standing behind them was a girl that looked like she was no older than eight years old. She was wearing a white t-shirt, a bright orange skirt, pink socks with light purple shoes and she had light purple eyes and dark red hair that stuck out like large pigtails. "This lake belongs to the Lotad, and you cannot swim in it!" The girl stated, with her hands on her hips and a firm expression on her face. Ash and the others all stared at her in surprise, wondering who she was as Brock walked over, having recovered from that blast of water Lotad gave him. "Uh... who are you?" Ash asked.

"My name is Natalie, and I'm one of three sisters that run the Flower Shop in this area. Now you will have to come with me at once." The girl replied. The group of four could only stare in silence, wondering what state of mind this girl was in to think that she could tell them what to do. "And why should we be coming with you, ma'am?" Misty asked, showing an expression of annoyance as she wasn't going to stand for someone younger than her telling her off when it wasn't her place.

"I'll tell you why: for a lecture!" Natalie sharply replied. Ash, May and Brock all jumped from alarm at this reply, while Misty showed an expression of annoyance and walked over so she was standing face to face with Natalie. "Oh, really? Well, we'll have to wait and see what happens when we meet your sisters! You should know that it's rude to speak to travelling Trainers that way, especially ones that are older than you. Now where can we find the Flower Shop?" Misty asked, while the others watched her in surprise seeing that she wasn't standing for this. Natalie simply showed a bright smile, as this was proving to be easier for her than she thought.

"That would be this way; follow me." Natalie replied. With this, she started to walk off ahead while the others followed after her, but not before getting changed back into their regular clothes and grabbing their bags so they wouldn't leave anything they brought behind.

Meanwhile, in another area of the forest, the Rocket Trio were slowly walking through the grass and they were feeling very exhausted from how long they had been walking for. "Must...find...water..." The three panted in unison; from the looks of things, it was very safe to say that they had been walking for a long time, and trying to catch up with Ash and the others wasn't making things any easier for them.

"Where are we, anyway?" Jessie quietly asked. "We're in the forest." Meowth replied, looking annoyed and feeling very exhausted. Judging from their surroundings, they didn't find it too hard to believe that they were still lost in Petalburg Woods. That reply didn't too much to curb Jessie's exhaustion, because she showed an expression of annoyance and lifted her head up.

"I have eyes; I can see that! I want to know where we are in this forest!" Jessie snapped in response. As she gritted her teeth and started to groan in dismay at the fact that they didn't have any idea of where they were, Meowth wasn't feeling very mood to deal with one of her temper tantrums, not that he thought it would do much to help their situation out in the first place.

"If I knew that, we wouldn't be wandering around in circles completely lost." Meowth bluntly replied. Jessie then let out a sigh of dismay and she lowered her head to look down at the ground. "True..." she quietly replied, like she was aware that losing her temper wasn't going to improve their situation in any way. Just then, the two heard a thud on the grass in front of them and looked up to notice that James had collapsed just in front of them.

"James, you ok?" The two asked in unison. When they didn't get any response from him after a few seconds, they immediately showed expressions of alarm before Jessie rushed over and bent down to pick him up, holding him in her arms. "James, pull yourself together!" Jessie said, showing an expression of worry while Meowth rushed over without any hesitance on his part. "You've got to get up!" Meowth stated, looking just as worried as Jessie was.

After a few seconds, James slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head to see the two looking at him in worry. "No... I'm afraid this is the end of the road for me... you two go on ahead without me... I've had a good life, but I don't want to be a burden any longer..." James explained; it was very safe to say that exhaustion was catching up to him. Jessie and Meowth could only stare in shock watching this before they could both feel tears building in their eyes and quickly closed them so James wouldn't see them like this.

"What are you talking about?! You're coming with us to find water!" Jessie retorted. "And when we do, you'll get to be the first to drink it!" Meowth added. James lifted his head up to look at the two, showing a grateful smile hearing that they wouldn't leave him behind.

"Thank you, both of you... I'm going to miss you terribly when I'm gone." James replied. Jessie couldn't help herself looking down in worry; she didn't want to admit it out loud, but she knew that she would miss James as well if anything happened to him. But then, the Rocket Trio turned their glances up to see that just up ahead, on the branch of a large tree was a bright red berry that was spiked all over.

"Is that a Berry?" Jessie happily asked with a bright smile crossing the Trio's faces at the sight. "It sure is! Lushest, juicy Berries; just what we need to be hydrated again!" Meowth excitedly exclaimed. Without a moment to spare, Jessie and Meowth both rushed over to the tree to grab the Berry, making sure not to step on James as he lay on the ground watching them. However, Jessie and Meowth quickly engaged in a tussle as they wanted to grab the Berry for themselves while James simply watched with a grateful smile. After a few seconds, the two grabbed the Berry off the branch and both took a bite out of it, but after a few seconds, their faces suddenly turned bright red and they were suddenly shooting flames out of their mouths like they had suddenly learnt Flamethrower. "I'm on fire!" Meowth cried, as he and Jessie started to run back and forth with flames shooting out of their mouths while James simply watched in amusement and he couldn't help but giggle to himself seeing the two running around like this.

"This is all your fault, Jessie!" Meowth snapped. "Save it, Meowth! Get me water!" Jessie snapped back as their mouth flames shot up into the sky, while amazingly not burning down any trees in the area around them. While this was happening, Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

Back with Ash and the others, they were arriving at the doorstep of what looked like a large brown hut. As the group looked at the building, they noticed the sign at the front that said 'Pretty Petal Flower Shop'. "So this is the Flower Shop? I have to say, it really looks nice." May commented, showing a bright smile as she stared up at the sign. As this was happening, Natalie opened the door to reveal the front of the shop: Ash and the others could see that there were different types of potted plants around them, and there was also a counter with someone sitting at the cash register, who turned their heads to see them. The person in question was a young woman that seemed to be eighteen years old, and she was wearing a dress that was pink in the top half and dark green at the bottom half with a light yellow apron on top along with brown shoes, and she had light green eyes and short dark brown hair. "Hi there!" May happily said, waving to the woman who showed a bright smile and stood up to meet them.

"Oh, hello there!" The woman happily greeted. She then looked down to see Natalie walking over to her with a firm expression on her face. "Natalie, you're back!" she commented. She then looked up at Ash and the others with an expression of surprise before she looked back down at Natalie and asked "Who might they be?"

Natalie turned around to Ash and the others, pointing to them while they stared in surprise. "Nicole, I found these people trespassing near the lake where the Lotad are! They should know that they can't swim here, so I brought them over here." Natalie explained. Nicole stared in surprise at this and then looked up at Ash and the others, wondering what was going on. Luckily, Ash was more than happy to fill her in on what they were actually doing. Once Ash's explanation was done, Nicole had turned her attention to Natalie, who was now looking down in shame at the fact that she had the wrong idea.

"What are you thinking, Natalie? You know you should be kinder to travellers, right?" Nicole asked. "I know, but, Nicole..." Natalie sighed in response. Ash and the others couldn't help themselves watching this with nervous smiles. "Well, well, it looks like she's the one getting lectured." May commented, to which Misty nodded in agreement; she felt glad to know that Natalie had been set straight about this whole issue, while Pikachu could only nod along with her. Nicole then turned her head up to Ash and the others, holding Natalie by the shoulders while the latter kept her head turned to the side.

"I apologize for my sister's rudeness." Nicole said, showing a sincere smile. Fortunately, it seemed that the group didn't have any hard feelings about the whole debacle because they all simply showed bright smiles. "No, it's okay." Ash replied, while Pikachu nodded in agreement. Nicole showed a smile of relief, as she was glad to hear that they didn't have any hard feelings about Natalie's behaviour.

"Thank you. I'm Nicole and I see you've already met my little sister, Natalie. The two of us run this little flower shop." Nicole explained. Natalie then lifted her head up to face Ash and the others and gave a small wave, as she wasn't feeling very in the mood to talk again after making a fool out of herself.

"Hi, nice to meet you, Nicole. My name's Ash and over here is my little buddy, Pikachu." Ash replied, turning his head to Pikachu to which the electric mouse Pokemon showed a bright smile and happily waved to Nicole. "I'm May. Nice to meet you!" May happily greeted. "And my name's Misty and this is my little Pokemon, Togepi." Misty added, turning her glance down to Togepi who showed a bright smile and let out a happy chirp in greeting. Just then, without any hesitance, Brock, who was staring with his face having gone red the entire time, rushed over to Nicole and grabbed both of her hands while she and the others stared in surprise.

"Hi, I'm Brock and you're beautiful. The elegance of this Flower Shop is surpassed only by your exquisite elegance!" Brock happily said. Nicole simply stared in surprise before she showed a nervous smile. "Uh... thanks." she nervously replied. While this was happening, Ash could only stare with a nervous smile, May let out a sigh of dismay and Misty showed an expression of annoyance seeing Brock acting like this again.

"As an authority of magnificence, I'm here to say that you're the inspiration for it all." Brock continued. But then, he suddenly felt something pulling on his ear and turned his glance to find that it was Misty. "Misty, not this again! Let me go!" Brock cried as Misty pulled him back while Nicole and Natalie watched in surprise. "Well, maybe you should learn a lesson or two about inspiration because at the moment, yours is falling dry." Misty replied, showing a firm expression as she held Brock by the ear while Ash and May both watched, Ash with a smile of amusement and May staring in surprise.

"Ash, is this common with Brock and Misty?" May whispered, turning her head to Ash while he looked over at her in surprise. Ash simply showed an amused smile before nodding in confirmation. "Yeah, it is. Misty always used to do this while we were travelling together." Ash replied, to which Pikachu nodded in agreement. May simply showed an expression of concern as she started to wonder if Brock felt any pain on his ear after how many times Misty might pulled on it. While this was happening, Nicole turned her attention to the group as she had recovered from that surprise from Brock.

"I just baked an Oran Berry Pie and it's almost finished cooling off. Would you all like to join us for a slice?" Nicole asked. There was no need for any second thoughts with Ash and the others, because they all nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that'd be great! Thanks!" Ash happily replied while Pikachu quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, please! I'm so hungry!" May cheered, while Ash simply watched her with a smile of amusement seeing her excitement. Misty showed a bright smile at this offer and nodded in agreement as she let go of Brock's ear. "Yeah, we would love to join you. Thanks, Nicole!" Misty cheerfully agreed.

"It would be a privilege and an honour to sample the cooking skills of such a great talent!" Brock replied. Misty then showed an expression of annoyance at this reply and then grabbed hold of Brock's ear again while he let out a yell of pain. "You won't be getting any pie if you keep this up." Misty firmly stated, while Ash and May both watched this in amusement. Just then, the front door of the flower shop opened to show a young girl step inside holding a dark blue pail that was in the shape of a whale Pokemon; she looked like she was sixteen years old and she was wearing a light green gardening outfit along with a dark red long-sleeved top underneath and black boots, and she had dark blue eyes and short dark green hair.

"Natalie, a watering pipe in the garden sprang a leak again. This Wailmer Pail is not going to do the job." The young woman said. She then showed an expression of surprise seeing Ash and the others inside with her two sisters. "Hello? Do we have company?" she asked. Ash and the others turned around to see her and Brock quickly jumped as Misty had finally let go of his ear.

"Another vision of loveliness?!" Brock blurted. Nicole showed a bright smile seeing this and she couldn't help herself letting out a giggle. "I'd like you all to meet our other sister, Rita." Nicole explained. Ash and the others all showed bright smiles and waved to Rita, while she smiled back.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you all." Rita said. She then showed an expression of surprise as Brock rushed over and grabbed her hand, showing a big face as his face had once again gone bright red. "My dearest Rita, what I wouldn't do to have a watering can that could raise a flower as beautiful as you, sweet daisy!" Brock gushed. While this was happening, Natalie could only show an expression of surprise watching this before turning her head to Misty.

"Uh, is he alright?" Natalie asked, pointing at Brock. Misty let out a sigh of dismay before slowly shaking her head. "He's lost in his own little world. I'll take care of this." Misty replied, before she walked over and grabbed Brock by the ear before she started to pull him back again. "I think the smell of plants is messing with your head. You need a watering can big enough for you to stick your head in and get all that pollen out of your system." Misty commented, as she walked off pulling Brock behind her while the others watched in silence. Once that was taken care of, Ash walked over to Rita while she was watching this in surprise.

"Sorry about Brock. This happens a lot while we're travelling." Ash explained, rubbing the back of his head as he was hoping that Rita wasn't too fazed by Brock's behaviour. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case as Rita showed a smile of understanding and shook her head. "Oh, that's not a problem at all. My name's Rita, and it's nice to meet you all. Are you about to have lunch?" Rita asked.

Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we are. When we're done, maybe we could help you fix that broken pipe in the garden. That is, if you don't mind us helping." he suggested. While this was happening, Ash didn't notice Natalie staring in annoyance at the sight of him being friendly towards her sisters while he wasn't like that to her when he first saw her. Rita seemed to agree to this idea, because she showed a bright smile and nodded.

"Really? Thank you; that would be a lot of help. Would you all like to have a look at our garden as well?" Rita asked. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks!" Ash cheerfully replied. That seemed to be Natalie's breaking point on her patience because she marched over and pulled on Ash's arm to get his attention.

"Hold on a second!" Ash turned his head to Natalie with an expression of surprise, wondering what was wrong as he saw her staring up at him in annoyance. "How come when you first met me, you didn't have anything nice to say to me, huh? You know that's very rude..." Natalie stated, before she turned her glance away as she felt her cheeks start to glow bright red. Ash stared in silence at this comment before he showed a nervous smile and started to rub the back of his head as he tried to figure out how to respond to this comment.

"Uh... well..." Ash nervously replied. Rita seemed to take notice of this as well, because she showed a bright smile and placed a hand under her chin as she seemed to know why Natalie was acting like this. "Is this love at first sight again, Natalie?" she asked. Ash showed an expression of surprise at this question, to which he and Pikachu looked at each other in alarm while the others seemed to share Ash's shock as they were all staring in surprise as well.

"Love... at first sight?" May quietly asked, as she watched this in alarm while Misty could only stare with her mouth dropped open in disbelief. May then shifted her glance back and forth to Ash and Natalie as she was trying to register what it was that she heard: Natalie had a crush on Ash. At the same time, Ash could only stare in stunned silence as he was trying to let this sink in as well. While this was happening, Nicole walked back in as she had gone into the kitchen to check on the Oran Berry Pie and see if it was ready.

"Everyone, the Oran Berry Pie is ready. Let's eat!" Nicole said. The others all turned their heads with bright smiles, thrilled to hear that the pie was ready, as they were more than ready to start eating.

Sometime later, the group were all sitting at a table in the back room and they were all enjoying a slice of Oran Berry Pie. "This is yummy!" Ash happily commented. May was munching on her slice and she showed a bright smile and happily nodded in agreement. "It sure is! I've never tasted anything like this before!" May exclaimed. Misty was enjoying her slice and she was giving a small piece to Togepi so she could enjoy it as well. "This is delicious, Nicole. Thank you so much!" Misty said, showing a bright smile while Togepi was chewing on her piece, to which she showed a bright smile and happily chirped in agreement with Misty.

"You're welcome. It was made with berries from the Oran tree; they're my all time favourite." Natalie replied. "Because of the mild climate and rich soil, we're able to harvest all kinds of fruit. I know I asked you this earlier, but would you like to see our garden and look at what else we're growing?" Rita asked. The group all turned to Rita and nodded without any hesitance.

"I'd love to! Thanks!" May happily replied. "I think we'd all like to see it." Ash added, to which Pikachu happily nodded in agreement from sitting in Ash's lap. Ash then turned his glance back to his plate, only to find that it was full of Oran Berry Pie slices; the last he checked, he only had one slice in his plate. He then turned his head to see Natalie looking at him with a big smile, as she was the one to place all of those slices there for him.

"I helped make the pie from scratch, so I hope you enjoy every last bite, Ash." Natalie happily said. Ash stared in surprise at this before a bright smile slowly crossed his face and he nodded in agreement. "Uh... yeah, I'd like to. Thanks, Natalie." Ash replied. With this, he started to munch down on the pie slices while May watched with an expression of annoyance on her face as she was sitting next to Ash; she didn't like watching what Natalie was up to, as it made her think that she liked Ash. As Ash was munching on the pie slices, he turned his head up to May seeing her expression of annoyance. "May? What's wrong?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern.

May nearly jumped in alarm hearing Ash ask that and she quickly showed a nervous smile before waving her hand up and down. "Oh, uh... nothing! I'm good, thanks!" May quickly replied, letting out a nervous laugh as she was talking. Ash stared at her in silence before nodding in understanding and resuming with eating; he just wanted to make sure that she was okay. Once May was certain she was in the clear, she turned her glance back to Natalie showing an expression of annoyance, while the latter looked up at her wondering what was wrong. Pikachu seemed to share May's sentiments, as he was watching this with a matching expression of annoyance just like May.

Sometime after lunch, the group stepped outside to have a look at the garden, and May showed a bright smile of awe. "Wow, the air here is so clean!" she happily exclaimed. Misty had a look around their surroundings and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is. It looks like it would be a great place to raise Pokemon." Misty commented. The group then started to get out their Pokeballs, deciding that they should get their teams out to enjoy the garden as well.

"Come on out, everyone!" Ash said, throwing his Pokeballs up into the air, which opened and released Taillow, Treecko, Riolu and Larvitar. Once they were out, Taillow started to take up into the air, Treecko climbed up onto a tree branch and leaned against it with his arms crossed and Larvitar and Riolu started to look around the garden in awe, taking in the sights around them.

"Good idea, Ash! You too, Forretress!" Brock agreed, throwing out the one Pokeball he had, which opened and released Forretress. "Let's go, everyone!" May happily said, throwing her four Pokeballs out, all of which opened to show Torchic, Azurill, Ralts and Wurmple.

Misty then started to grab her Pokeballs out as well, but one of them suddenly opened by itself to reveal Psyduck standing there with his hands on his head as always. Misty stared in silence before she showed an expression of irritation. "Psyduck! How many times have I told you not to come out of your Pokeball until I tell you?!" she snapped. Psyduck simply turned around to her and tilted his head with an expression of puzzlement as he had no clue where the issue was. Misty shook her head at Psyduck before she threw out her other three Pokeballs, which opened and released Horsea, Goldeen and Starmie. Once all of the Pokemon were out of their Pokeballs, they started to look around the garden with smiles of awe. As Ralts was having a look around, she noticed a flower patch nearby.

"(Riolu, come look at this!)" Ralts happily called waving to the little Aura Pokemon. Riolu turned his head hearing Riolu call him and ran over to see what was up, and noticed the flower patch she was looking at. "(Look at that. Have you ever seen such beautiful flowers and so many as well? There are roses, dandelions, lilies, daisies...)" Ralts commented as she pointed to each of the flowers while she listed them off. As Riolu was having a look at the patch, there was one particular flower that caught his eye: it was a small white rose. Riolu then reached over and picked the rose from the patch before turning around to Ralts.

"(Ralts?)" he asked. Ralts turned her head to Riolu wondering what was up and then she noticed the white rose he was holding. "(This one's for you. It's just a way for me to thank you for how much kindness you've shown me since we met, and to show how much I've enjoyed the time we've spent together so far.)" Riolu explained. Ralts stared at the white rose in awe, before a bright smile slowly crossed her face as she took the rose from Riolu and turned her glance up to him.

"(Riolu... thank you so much. I love it.)" Ralts softly said. She then looked down in uncertainty, wondering how Riolu would react if she told him this, but after the confrontation against Shelly and her Mightyena, she figured that she should let him know now before anything else happened to him. "(Riolu?)" she then asked.

"(Yes?)" Riolu asked in response, wondering what she had to say. Ralts turned her glance down with an expression of uncertainty, trying to figure out how to word this properly, before she looked back up at Riolu. "(There's something that... I really want to say to you. I've been thinking since that battle against Mightyena; I'm not entirely sure what might happen to us on the rest of this journey. I don't know who we'll meet or what we might be up against, but there is something I do want to be sure of. Riolu, whatever awaits us while we're travelling together, will you always be there by my side to support me, no matter what happens?)" Ralts softly asked. Riolu could only stare in stunned silence hearing this; if he didn't know any better, it seemed that Ralts had grown to have feelings for him, and as crazy as it was for him, he felt the same way for her; she was very sweet, kind-hearted and he could tell that she cared dearly about the friends she had come to meet, especially him. He considered himself very fortunate to meet a Pokemon like her. After a few seconds, Riolu slowly showed a bright smile and nodded.

"(Of course I will, Ralts. I will always be here to help you and stay by your side every step of this journey. Whatever awaits us on the road ahead, we'll face it together, not as friends or battling partners, but... as more.)" Riolu replied. Ralts slowly showed a bright smile at this reply and then she jumped forward and threw her arms around him, prompting him to nearly step backwards from surprise, but then he showed a bright smile seeing how happy she was to hear that.

"(Oh, Riolu, thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that!)" Ralts happily cried, as she felt tears of happiness building in her eyes. Riolu simply watched her with a comforting smile, but he was met with a surprise as Ralts let him go to brush her tears away. "(I'm sorry... it's just that I wanted to tell you the truth after we won against Team Aqua, but I wasn't sure of what you would say after hearing it. I wasn't sure if you felt the same way about me that I feel about you.)" Ralts quietly explained. Riolu watched her in silence for a few moments before a comforting smile slowly crossed his face, and he placed his paws on Ralts's shoulders so he could turn her around to face him.

"(Ralts, I'll be honest with you about this. When May went off on her own, I started to worry greatly about you. I wasn't sure if you were alright wherever you went, and it gave me time to think about the time we had spent together so far, and how I have enjoyed spending time with you. When I had time to think about everything, that was when I came to realise that... I don't just see you as a friend, I see you as something far more important. You've become someone I couldn't imagine spending the rest of this journey without.)" Riolu explained. Ralts could only look at him with a bright smile of awe showing on her face during his explanation, and she could feel her cheeks start to glow red upon hearing that last statement. "(So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that... I share your feelings for me, Ralts.)" Riolu finished. The two then started to brightly smile at each other, while Torchic was watching the two from nearby and she noticed the white rose that Ralts was holding in her hands.

"(It looks like Riolu gave that to her, and she really liked it...)" Torchic commented to herself. A bright smile then showed on her beak as she got an idea, as she walked over to the flower patch to have a look around and spotted a yellow dandelion, so she grabbed it with her beak and rushed over to where Treecko was, leaning on the tree branch. "(Treecko!)" Torchic called. Treecko turned his glance down to see Torchic looking up at him with the dandelion in her beak, so he jumped down and landed in front of her to find out what was up. "(I got this for you.)" Torchic said, placing the dandelion on the ground in front of Treecko, with a bright smile on her face.

Treecko stared at the little flower in surprise and then he looked up at Torchic to see her showing him a big smile; it looked like she really wanted to give this to him. With this, he showed a small smile and bent down to pick it up. "(I'm not sure what this is for, but... thank you.)" Treecko said. Torchic's smile grew brighter when she heard this, and she started to jump up and down in joy upon hearing that Treecko liked it. As all of this happening, Nicole and Natalie walked over seeing all of the Pokemon having a good time.

"They all look so happy. Well, shall we go have a look?" Nicole asked, turning her head to Ash and the others, who all promptly nodded in agreement. Natalie then showed a bright smile and quickly ran over to Ash, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him behind her much to his surprise.

"Come on, don't be shy, Ash!" Natalie happily commented. Ash stared in surprise at this while May watched in annoyance, with Pikachu doing the same thing; she didn't want the others to notice this, though, but she really didn't like how Natalie was behaving around Ash. Once the group came around the corner, they could see plants and trees with different types of Berries growing on them, to which May quickly showed a smile of awe and ran over to have a better look around.

"It's beautiful! I've never seen a garden like it." May happily commented. As she was looking at the flower patches in awe, Ash walked over to have a look with her much to Natalie's annoyance as she simply glared at him. "Look at this, Ash. Aren't those flowers so beautiful?" May cheerfully asked. Ash simply showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement, keeping his glance on May while she happily stared at them.

"Thank you, May. We also grow all kinds of different berries in our garden. For example, that Oran Berry was in the pie you just ate, and that's a delicious Pecha Berry." Nicole explained, turning her head to a few trees that were growing in the garden. Ash and the others looked to notice as well, and they could see a dark blue berry growing on one of the trees as well as a bright pink berry. But there was one particular berry that caught Ash's attention; it was bright red and was spiked from top to bottom. Upon noticing it, Ash walked over and went to grab it from the tree to have a taste of it. "No, don't eat that!" Nicole quickly called. Ash turned his head to her, showing an expression of surprise as he was wondering what was up. "That's a Tamato Berry and it's really hot." Nicole explained. Ash nearly jumped hearing this; if she hadn't stepped in, he would have gotten his mouth on fire.

"Why would you grow berries like that?" Ash asked, showing an expression of puzzlement as he walked back over. "All of the Berries have different effects on Pokemon." Nicole replied. The group quickly showed expressions of surprise at this comment.

"Really? What kind of effects?" Misty asked, tilting her head in curiosity as she wanted to know more about that. "If you crush them up in Pokemon food, they do all kinds of awesome things." Natalie replied.

"That's true; they can heal injuries and restore energy. All of the Berries have their own kind of effect." Nicole added, nodding in confirmation. She then pointed to a small tree nearby that looked like it had large berries growing on the branches. "Over there are Sitrus Berries; give them to a Pokemon and they will be full of energy." Nicole explained. As Ash and the others looked at the tree, they could notice that something seemed strange about this.

"But... those Berries don't like they're ripe yet." Misty commented. "We could look for ripe ones in the forest." Natalie suggested. As the group stared up at the Sitrus Berry tree, Brock in particular was staring up at them in intrigue.

"Sitrus Berries, huh? Let's go have a look." Brock said. Nicole turned her head to Brock with a bright smile, noticing his interest in learning about what kinds of Berries there were in the garden. "You seem very interested in the Berries, Brock." she commented. Brock showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement, while Ash stepped in as he figured that he could explain why that was.

"Brock's training to become a Pokemon Breeder, so he likes to know how to properly take care of Pokemon in case something happens." Ash explained. Misty showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "That's right! Not to mention, he also helps us out by taking care of our meals and supplies while we're travelling, so we don't have to worry about running out of things we need." Misty added, while Togepi nodded along with her. Natalie was paying attention to what Ash was saying, and then she showed a bright smile as she got an idea.

"I know! I could make you all a list of what Berries to give to which Pokemon and how much to give them. Would you like that?" Natalie suggested. Ash turned to Natalie with an expression of surprise at this suggestion, hearing that she would be willing to do that. "Wow, really? You'd do that?" Ash asked. Natalie showed a bright smile and cheerfully nodded.

"Of course! I'd do anything to help you." Natalie replied. Ash quickly showed a bright smile at this reply. "Wow, thanks, Natalie! That would really help us out a lot." Ash happily commented, while Pikachu nodded in agreement with a big smile on his face.

"It's no problem at all! I'd do anything to help my boyfriend." Natalie added, turning her head away as she felt a blush streak across her face while she said that. Ash nearly jumped from surprise at this, while the others started to stare as well, Brock mostly from amusement seeing Ash getting attention from someone, and May and Misty from annoyance watching Natalie's behaviour. With May, she could only show a glare in Natalie's direction; if there was anyone who should have the honour of calling Ash that, May wanted it to be her, not that she would actually say that out loud. "Uh... b-boyfriend?" Ash asked, staring in surprise hearing Natalie say that. He then showed a nervous smile and started to rub the back of his head as he decided that maybe he should try and set the record straight. "Well, Natalie, I never actually said I was your..." Before Ash could get a chance to continue, the group turned their heads to see Rita walking over carrying a red kit full of tools on her shoulder.

"Nicole! We're going to have to put all new pipes. Those joints are so old, we'll be much better off replacing the whole thing." Rita said; she was talking about the pipe that had sprung a leak, and she figured that the pipes had to be replaced. Nicole showed an expression of dismay as she looked down to think about it. "I guess so, but that's a really hard job..." she commented.

Just then, the group could hear the sound of Pokemon and noticed that the Lotad were waddling over in a single file line carrying small puddles of water on their lily pads. "Isn't that the Lotad we saw in the lake?" Ash asked, showing an expression of surprise. "Yeah, it is. Thanks for your help, guys!" Rita replied, showing a bright smile to see that the Lotad were here to help them out. The Lotad all lowered their heads as they started to pour the water they were carrying onto the trees and plants around the garden.

"How come they're all helping?" May asked as she and the others watched the Lotad in surprise. "That's because it's their way of thanking us for growing these Berries for them." Natalie replied. A few of the Lotad stood up on the fence as they started to shoot blasts of water from their mouths up into the air, with the water pouring down on the plants like a rainfall. "Now that's strange..." May commented to herself, grabbing out her Pokedex to have a look at Lotad's Pokedex entry, and she couldn't see Water Gun in Lotad's move set. "Nicole, aren't Lotad usually not able to use Water Gun?" May asked, showing an expression of puzzlement as she was trying to figure out how these Lotad could use Water Gun.

"That's true, but these are very special Lotad. The truth is, they can use all sorts of unusual attacks." Nicole explained. Ash then walked over with a bright smile on his face as he had an idea. "Hey, as long as we're here, is it okay if we help out too?" Ash asked. That seemed to sit well with the others as they all nodded in agreement with a bright smile showing on their faces.

"Yeah, let's help!" May happily agreed. "That sounds like a great idea!" Misty added. "You'll get one hundred per cent Brock labour." Brock commented. With this, the four pumped their fists up in the air and let out a resounding cheer; they were all looking forward to helping out around the garden.

Out in the forest, the Rocket Trio had their heads dunked in the lake and they were enjoying a long drink of water. After a few seconds, James lifted his head up with a bright smile. "Ah, back on track!" James happily commented. He then turned his head to Jessie and Meowth and noticed that the two hadn't lifted their heads up yet. "Are you two okay?" James asked, showing an expression of surprise. Jessie and Meowth both lifted their heads from under the water to reveal that they had bright red marks on their lips from eating the Tamato Berry and they had matching expressions of annoyance.

"As a matter of fact, no we're not." The two bluntly replied. James showed a nervous smile at this reply, but then he turned his head to notice something just not too far ahead.

"What's that?" James asked in surprise. He grabbed out his pair of electronic binoculars to have a closer look, and a bright smile slowly crossed his face at the sight. "Well, I'll be! Look at this, you two!" James happily commented. Jessie and Meowth both had a look through their binoculars with him to see what he had found, and they saw that just up ahead behind the trees was a small brown building with a pipe way that led into the lake they were currently at. "What do you think that little place could be?" James asked.

"It looks like some kind of flower shop." Meowth replied; he could see the sign at the front that said 'Pretty Petal Flower Shop'. Jessie showed a bright smile as she lowered her binoculars before turning her head to the others, who looked up at her in surprise. "Well, since we happen to be in the neighbourhood, why don't we go have a look? I could use a break after all of that walking." Jessie suggested. With this, she stood up and started to walk off to find a way there.

"Uh... okay." James and Meowth replied in unison, staring at each other in surprise for a few moments before they nodded and started to follow after Jessie. As they were leaving, they didn't notice that at the lake nearby were Ash and the others, carrying buckets with them to bring water over to the garden.

Soon, the Rocket Trio arrived near the back fence of the Flower Shop to which they started to climb over to get into the garden. Jessie went through and landed safely on her feet, Meowth followed suit before landing feet first, but as James went to follow them, he tripped as he climbed up onto the fence before falling over and landing in one of the bushes, to which Jessie and Meowth both turned their heads in surprise to notice. James then lifted his head and shook it rapidly before turning his glance up to the two. "I'm okay." James commented, showing a bright smile. He then stood up and brushed any dirt that may have gotten on him off before he followed after Jessie and Meowth. As the three looked around the garden, they could see various kinds of flowers and berries growing on the trees around them, and the three showed smiles of awe.

"Look at this place! Have you ever seen a garden with this much growing in it?" Jessie happily asked as she showed a smile of awe seeing what was growing in the garden around them. "I know I haven't, Jess. It almost feels like a paradise in here." James replied. As Meowth was having a look around on his own, he noticed something nearby and made his way up the small staircase leading to the back room and had a look through the glass windows before a big smile crossed his face and he turned his head to Jessie and James.

"Hey, come here and look at this!" Meowth called. Jessie and James both turned their heads wondering what Meowth found and made their way over to where he was and looked through the window to see that on the table were slices of Oran Berry Pie left over from where Ash and the others ate. "Looks like someone left behind lunch." Meowth commented.

"Is that Oran Berry Pie?" Jessie asked as she and James started to show a bright smile at the sight. "I'd say so." James replied, nodding. With this, Jessie stood up and slid the glass doors open before stepping inside to have a look. She picked up a pie slice and took a bite out of it before a bright smile crossed her face and she turned to James and Meowth. "Come on, you two! Lunch is served!" Jessie cheered. James and Meowth both showed big smiles at this and quickly rushed in to join, and the three made themselves comfortable sitting at the tables before they started to eat.

"Well, it was a long trek, but I think we finally made it out of Petalburg Woods." Jessie commented. "So that means there's nothing but a clear road towards Rustboro City." James agreed. "And when we find Rustboro City, we find the twerps." Meowth added. The three of them all looked at each other and let out a cheer, thrilled to know that they were now on the right track with their plan to find Ash and the others, with Wobbuffet popping out of his Pokeball to cheer "Wobbuffet!" with them.

With Ash and the others, they were arriving back in the garden carrying buckets filled with water with them. May was looking down at the Lotad who were following beside them with their lily pads filled with water. "We're almost there!" May happily commented. The Lotad weren't the only Pokemon helping, though; Torchic and Pikachu were both carrying a leaf together, while Riolu and Ralts followed behind them as they were carrying one as well. But as they got close, Pikachu stopped in his tracks, causing Torchic to nearly run into him, which the others noticed as well. "Pikachu, what's wrong?" May asked, looking down at him in surprise. Pikachu pointed at the front of the line of Lotad and the group noticed that the Lotad at the front wasn't moving at all. "Oh, we've got a traffic jam." May sighed, showing an expression of dismay.

Misty had a look at the line to see what the problem and pointed to the Lotad at the front. "It's because of that Lotad at the front; I don't think it wants to move." Misty commented. Ash turned his head to see what was up and showed a smile when he recognized the Lotad at the front; it was the one that was struggling to use Water Gun. "Hey, it's the same Lotad from earlier!" Ash happily said.

Rita looked up with Ash and nodded in agreement. "That Lotad is a unique character." she said. Brock was watching this in silence and then he placed the bucket he was carrying down on the ground and walked over to the Lotad while the others watched in surprise, wondering what he was doing. As Lotad was staring blankly at the flower patch, it suddenly heard Brock from beside it.

"Excuse me? What's wrong?" Lotad turned its head to see Brock standing beside it. "Lotad, are you okay?" Brock asked, showing a gentle smile. Lotad looked up at him with a blank stare, as it had no idea what it was supposed to be. Figuring that it would be best to give a demonstration, Brock lowered his head before turning back to Lotad so it could give it a go. "Take your time, Lotad; there's no need to rush." Brock said. Lotad stared blankly for a few seconds before it slowly lowered its head, pouring the water it was carrying onto the flower patch. "That's it! Good job, Lotad!" Brock happily stated. After it was done, Lotad lifted its head up and showed a bright smile. As the others were watching this, they couldn't help smiling as well.

"Yeah! All right, Brock!" May cheered, jumping up in the air in excitement. "Great job, Brock!" Misty happily commented, while Togepi let out a happy chirp in her arms, and the others watched this with bright smiles as well.

"See? You can do anything if you just try it." Brock said, looking down at Lotad. Lotad stared up at him before a bright smile crossed its face before it turned around to him and started to move its head up and down in gratitude. "Look at that, Brock. I think Lotad's thanking you." Misty said. Brock stared in surprise before showing a nervous smile.

"That's okay. Just helping others out is all the thanks that I need." Brock nervously said. From where they are tending to a patch, Ash, Rita and Natalie were watching this as well.

"Brock sure is a nice guy. He's going to make a great Breeder; it's obvious he cares a lot about Pokemon." Rita commented, as she and Ash watched with bright smiles. Ash turned his glance up to Rita and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's Brock for you." Ash agreed. While this was happening, the two didn't notice that Natalie was turning her glance down to think; there was something she wanted to take care of.

That evening, the pipeline had been fixed and the water sprayers had been turned back on as they sprayed water on the growing plants. With Ash and the others, they had arrived down at the lake with the Lotad. "Thanks for all your help today, Lotad. Now you go on back to the lake." Rita said. The Lotad all nodded in agreement, so they turned around and started to head back to the lake, with the exception of the one Lotad who was still standing there. As soon as Ash and the others, they couldn't help themselves smiling with amusement.

"I guess this little guy got left behind again." Ash commented. Brock then bent down to Lotad, figuring that maybe he should be the one to let the little guy know. "Hey, all your friends have already gone back to the lake." Brock explained. Just then, the group heard someone calling out to them.

"Rita!" The group turned their heads to see Nicole running over to them, and she was holding a piece of paper in her hand with an expression of worry on her face. "It's awful! This is from Natalie!" Nicole said, showing the paper she had in her hand; it was a note. Rita and the others had a look at the note to see that it said 'Looking for Sitrus Berries'. Ash could only stare in shock before he remembered that Natalie heard him talking about how Brock liked to learn about how to take care of Pokemon as he was training to become a Pokemon Breeder, and he also remembered that Brock was interested in looking for Sitrus Berries. As Ash remembered all of this, he let out a silent gasp of shock.

"She must have gone off to look for those Berries because she heard what I was talking about." Ash quietly commented. Without any hesitance, Ash showed an expression of determination and turned to Brock and Rita. "Come on, we have to go find her!" Ash stated. Brock and Rita both nodded in agreement, so the three of them turned and started to head off into the woods to look for Natalie. "Guys, wait up!" May called before she started to run after them; for her annoyance towards Natalie throughout the day, there was no way she was going to stay behind knowing that she was missing.

"Be careful! It will be dark soon, so please hurry back!" Nicole called as she and Misty watched the small group leave to find Natalie.

Meanwhile, Natalie was walking through the forest by herself with a small light purple bag on her shoulders. _'Just you wait, Ash. I'll find those Sitrus Berries for you and your friends, you'll see.' _Natalie thought to herself with a determined smile on her face.

Sometime later, night time had fallen and Ash, May, Brock and Rita were out in the forest trying to find Natalie. "Natalie! Where are you?" Brock asked. "Natalie!" Rita called, as she and the others were looking around for any sign of her.

"Natalie, where are you?" Ash asked. "Are you there?" May added. As Pikachu was looking around for any sign of Natalie, he could hear shaking from a bush behind him and turned around in surprise.

"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking down at his little partner while the others turned around to see what was up. "(There's something in the bushes over there!)" Pikachu replied, pointing to the bush. The others turned to the bush, wondering what could be there, and they were met with a surprise when Lotad popped out. "Look at that! It's Lotad." Brock commented, as he and the others stared in surprise.

"I think it must have followed us." May said. Lotad then slowly waddled over towards Brock, to which Brock bent down and picked it up, holding it so he was looking it in the eyes. "I know, Lotad. You must be worried about Natalie too, is that right?" Brock asked. Lotad simply stared at Brock blankly, blinking for a few moments.

Back with Natalie, she poked her head out from a thick bush and looked around a few times, wondering where she could be. As she turned her glance forward, a bright smile crossed her face; just up ahead was a small tree with large, round, bright yellow berries with small orange spots on them hanging from the tree branches. "I found them! Sitrus Berries!" Natalie happily cheered. With this, she climbed out from behind the bush and walked over to the tree, before reaching forward to grab one of the berries and pulled it off the tree branch. "Oh, good! Ash is going to be so happy!" Natalie commented, showing a bright smile at her find. Just then, the bush behind her started to shake and she turned around with an expression of surprise before holding the berry close to her. "Who's here?" she asked. The bush started to shake for a few seconds before something jumped out from behind it, causing Natalie to jump and let out a loud scream from panic.

From nearby, Ash, May, Brock and Rita could hear the scream and showed matching expressions of surprise. "Did you hear that?" Ash asked. "It's Natalie!" Brock gasped, while May showed an expression of worry as she started to wonder where Natalie could be. Rita had a look around before she pointed to the left.

"It came from that way. Come on, let's hurry!" Rita said, turning to the other three with her. Ash, May and Brock all turned their heads to her and nodded in agreement before they started to run to find Natalie before something happened to her.

Back with Natalie, she found that she was being cornered by a Beedrill who looked none too thrilled to see her as it glared at her. The Beedrill then started to charge towards Natalie, prompting her to let out a scream of panic and turn her head away. Just then, Ash and the others arrived on the scene, with Ash grabbing out one of his Pokeballs without a moment to spare. "Taillow, use Wing Attack!" Ash called, throwing out the Pokeball which opened and released Taillow, who quickly took to the air with his wings glowing white, and he charged towards the Beedrill before striking it, sending it flying away back into the trees. Once the Beedrill was gone, Ash and the others ran over to Natalie who looked up to see them.

"Natalie, are you okay?" Brock asked. Natalie looked up in surprise before a bright smile crossed her face upon seeing Ash and she quickly stood up. "Ash, you saved me! You're my hero!" Natalie happily exclaimed, before she ran over and hugged Ash tightly, leaving him to stare in surprise while May glared at her in annoyance. Pikachu wasn't all that thrilled, either, as he showed an expression of annoyance watching this as well. After a few seconds, Natalie let go while Rita showed a firm expression in her direction.

"Natalie, why did you run off?" Rita asked. "Yeah, you really scared us." Ash agreed. Natalie then looked down with an expression of shame, seeing how upset her older sister was that she left.

"I'm sorry..." Natalie replied. She then turned her head to Ash showing a bright smile, before she showed the Sitrus Berry she had in her hands. "Look, Ash! I found you a Sitrus Berry." Natalie said. Ash stared at the Berry in surprise for a few moments before he took it and looked down at Natalie with a bright smile.

"You went through the trouble of going on your own to find this? Thanks, Natalie. That's really sweet of you." Ash said. Pikachu could only stare at his friend in bewilderment, while Natalie showed a bright smile at the compliment and she could feel her cheeks glow bright red. May simply crossed her arms with an expression of irritation; when they got back to the Flower Shop, she figured that she was going to have a private word with Natalie about this.

Rita then showed a bright smile and crossed her arms. "You're just lucky to be safe and sound, young lady." she commented. Natalie simply showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; she was considering herself lucky that she was still in one piece. With this, the group started to make their way back to the Flower Shop where they were certain that Nicole and Misty were waiting for them.

Back with the two women in question, they were keeping a look out in case Ash and the others got back. As Misty was having a look around, a bright smile crossed her face when she saw someone. "Nicole, look! I think they're on their way here!" Misty said, pointing up ahead. Nicole looked with Misty to see that sure enough, Ash, May, Brock and Rita were walking over with Natalie beside them. "Guys, there you are! Are you all okay?" Misty asked, waving to the group to let them know where she and Nicole were.

"Yeah, we're alright, Misty. Sorry to keep you waiting!" Ash replied. Once he and the others caught up, Natalie happily ran over to show Nicole what she found.

"Look at this; I found a Sitrus Berry just how Ash and the others wanted! I was nearly attacked by a Beedrill, but Ash came to my rescue." Natalie explained. Ash couldn't help showing a sheepish smile hearing this, while Pikachu slowly shook his head wondering how long it was going to take for Natalie to figure it out. Nicole looked up at the group with a grateful smile.

"Thank you so much for finding Natalie." Nicole said. Ash and the others couldn't help themselves smiling and nodded in response; they were just more than happy to help out. Nicole then looked down at Natalie, who stared up at her. "I'm glad to see you're okay. But no more berry hunting by yourself, okay?" she asked. Natalie showed a bright smile and promptly nodded. With this, the group started to walk back to the Flower Shop. While this was happening, May turned her attention down to Natalie as there was something she had to take care of, so she walked over to the girl.

"Natalie?" May asked. Natalie turned her head up to May, wondering what was up. "When we get back, could I have a talk to you in private?" May asked. Natalie showed an expression of surprise at this request, and she simply nodded in response even though she couldn't help but wonder what this was about.

In the back room of the Flower Shop, the Rocket Trio were lying on the floor sound asleep; they had dozed off after they finished off with eating their Oran Berry Pie and they had been out for a few hours now. But as the three were sleeping peacefully, the sound of footsteps approaching the room they were in reached their ears and then they slowly opened their eyes and started to sit up, looking at each other in surprise. "Do you two hear something?" Jessie asked. The three then turned their heads to the door to see two silhouettes standing there and they nearly jumped from alarm.

"There's someone coming! Let's hide!" Meowth blurted. Without a moment to spare, the Rocket Trio took cover underneath the table. Luckily for them, it was long enough for all of them to hide. The three then slowly poked their heads out as the door opened to see May and Natalie step inside, with May closing the door behind them. "Hey, isn't that the brunette twerp that gave us that advice?" Meowth asked, as he could recognize May from her appearance right away. James had a closer look to see what Meowth was talking about, and then a bright smile crossed his face when he noticed.

"You're right, Meowth! It's May!" James happily commented. But it didn't take him long to realise that he was being too loud, so he quickly covered his mouth while Jessie and Meowth glared at him. Luckily, May and Natalie didn't seem to hear them as the two walked over near the table while the Rocket Trio watched in silence.

"So, May, what did you want to have a word with me about?" Natalie asked, pulling up a chair to make herself comfortable while May turned around to her. As Natalie watched, May walked over to the head to the table before turning around to face her. "Well, Natalie, this is something I noticed during the day we've been here. I know you might not have any idea what I'll ask you about, but... this is about how you've been acting around Ash." May explained. Natalie could only stare in surprise, wondering what May was getting at.

Meanwhile in the main room, Ash and the others were waiting for May and Natalie, as they couldn't help themselves wondering what it was that May wanted to talk about with Natalie. After a few seconds, Ash stood up and turned to the others while they all looked at her. "I think I'll go check on May and Natalie and see if everything's okay." Ash suggested. With this, he started to head to the back room with Pikachu following behind him.

When Ash came to the door leading to the back room, he turned his head to see that Pikachu was following behind him. "Wait here, Pikachu." Ash said. Pikachu promptly nodded in understanding, while Ash slowly opened the door to find May and Natalie; the former had her hands placed on the table while the latter was staring up at May like she was trying to understand what she was hearing. "So what exactly are you saying?" Natalie asked. Ash then slowly moved the door so it was only open a little, but still enough for him to hear what was going on. He watched as May raised her hands from the table and placed them on her hips before she turned to Natalie.

"What I'm trying to say is that from what I've seen, it seems as though you might have a crush on Ash!" May firmly replied. Ash showed an expression of surprise once he heard this; Natalie seemed to have a crush on him? He had noticed that something was strange about her behaviour when she was around him, but that was something he didn't really take into consideration. He then turned his head to see Natalie climb out of her seat and march over to May with an expression of annoyance on her face.

"Yeah, so what if I do? Judging from the glares you've been giving me all day, I wouldn't be too surprised if you have a crush on him too!" Natalie retorted. The reply seemed to stop May in her tracks, as her firm expression was quickly replaced with one of uncertainty, and she started to press her two forefingers together while Natalie watched her in surprise. "What? What's wrong?" she asked. May didn't give any response, as her face started to turn bright red, while the Rocket Trio were listening to all of this from under the table and they looked at each other in surprise before turning their attention back to the conversation at hand. Natalie watched May in silence before a bright smile crossed her face. "I had a feeling... you do have a crush on Ash, don't you?" Natalie cheekily asked.

May turned her glance to Natalie and nodded with a bright smile appearing on her face, and then she walked over to the glass doors and looked up at the night sky while Natalie watched her in surprise. "Well... yes, I do. Ash and I met while I was on my way to Littleroot Town, and he saved me when I was attacked by a pack of Mightyena." May replied. Natalie showed an expression of awe upon hearing this while May let out a sigh as she remembered that day clearly. "And then we started to travel together, I had a feeling that something about the way I saw him was... well, different. He always gave me support and helped me feel better when I was down; while others would have given up on me, Ash hasn't, and that was when I started to see him as more than just a friend. At first, I didn't pay much attention to it; I thought that my feelings for Ash were just a crush and nothing else. But then... everything that we experienced on our way here happened..." May explained, looking down as she remembered everything that happened between her and Ash prior to getting here; all of it replayed through her mind like a movie. Ash could only watch this in silence, hearing that May saw him in this light. After a few seconds, May turned to Natalie.

"And... when I took some time to think about everything that we had been through so far, that was when I realised that my feelings for Ash weren't just a crush. I realised that..." May was silent for a few moments before a bright smile crossed her face as she finished her sentence. "...I love Ash."

Natalie showed an expression of surprise at this, the Rocket Trio nearly jumped in alarm from underneath the table, and Ash let out a silent gasp of shock hearing May say that. After a few seconds, Natalie slowly showed a bright smile at this and she started to jump up and down in excitement. "Really? Wow, that's great! Does he know about how you feel for him yet?" Natalie asked.

May's smile slowly faded at this question and she slowly shook her head in dismay. "No, he doesn't. I've been trying to hold off telling him until we got to Rustboro City, but it hasn't been easy; with the more time we spend together, I feel that I want to tell him all the more. At the same time, I really want to tell Ash more than anything, but I have no way of knowing what he'll say when he learns the truth. What if he doesn't feel the same way? Or someone else already has his eye? I really want to believe that he'll feel the same way about me, but I just really don't know what he thinks about." May quietly explained, closing her eyes as she felt uncertainty and worry run through her head of what would happen when she was able to get the chance to tell Ash the truth. Natalie was listening intently to all of this, hearing that May really saw Ash like this, and then a bright smile crossed her face before she walked over to May.

"Hey, I think there's nothing to worry about." Natalie said. May turned her glance to Natalie with an expression of surprise at this. "I'm sure that Ash will return your feelings if you decide to tell him; I don't really know him for as long as you have, but from I've seen of him, he seems just like the kind of boy who would consider himself lucky to have a girl like you in his life. I don't even feel that way for him; I already knew that he'd be too old for me. But I'm sure that he would be really happy to be with someone who does feel that way for him, and that someone would be you, May. Just be sure to tell him about your honest feelings; nothing works better than honesty." Natalie explained. May slowly showed a bright smile at this advice and she nodded in agreement; as long as she told Ash how she truly felt, she knew there was no way he wouldn't return her feelings.

"You're right, Natalie. Thank you." May happily replied. From where he was watching this out near the doorway, Ash slowly closed the door and leaned against the wall, trying to let this sink in.

'_I don't believe this. Did May actually say that... she loves me? When did this happen? I never noticed May say anything about...' _Right before Ash could continue his thoughts, that was when it all suddenly came to him. He remembered everything that May did while they were together; all of the times she held his hand, the amount of times he saw her blush when he gave her support, how she always wanted to come with him when he went to do something like when he went to look for new Pokemon when they first stepped into Petalburg Woods, or when he left to make sure Riolu got away safely from the Pokemon Hunters, the times when she said she had something to say to him but would always be interrupted, the times when she hugged him and he surprisingly liked it, and probably most importantly, that kiss on the cheek she gave him after he saved her from being attacked by Tyranitar's Hyper Beam. At the centre of it all in Ash's mind was May, standing there with a bright smile on her face and her blue eyes shining brightly like sapphires. As all of this slowly came to Ash, he suddenly felt like his heart skipped a beat, his inside suddenly felt like they were on fire and he could feel his face start to turn bright red as his eyes slowly went wide; he was finding himself thinking about May.

'_What was that? I felt like my heart was on fire, and all I could think about was May. I could see her, in the centre of my thoughts, and I remembered how much I would anything to keep her safe and make sure she's always happy, because I love to see her smile. When she's with me, I feel like I can take on any odds, no matter how impossible they are, and I feel... complete when she's with me. Could that be...?' _Ash thought to himself, pressing a hand against his chest as he struggled to understand what that sensation he just had was. As he looked down to think about it, a realisation suddenly came to him and a silent gasp of awe escaped his lips as it all seemed to suddenly make sense to him. "This... this is what being in love feels like..." Ash quietly whispered. He had no idea how he missed it all this time, but it all suddenly seemed to click in his head and now he understood one thing: he finally understood what love meant... because he was in love with May.

The next morning, as the sun rose over the horizon, Ash and the others were ready to continue their way towards Rustboro City with Nicole, Rita and Natalie out to see them off. Natalie walked over to the group and held out a small booklet she had been working on during the night. "Here you are, guys. This is a list of all the Berries." Natalie said, showing the list to Ash who then passed it down to Brock, who showed a bright smile as he looked at the list.

"Thank you so much, Natalie." Brock said. Natalie showed a bright smile before holding up two fingers in the form of a peace sign. "Oh, don't mention it." Natalie cheerfully replied.

"Rustboro City is just up ahead, everyone." Nicole said. Rita then showed a smile and winked at Ash and May as she added "And good luck with your Gym Battle, you two!"

"Thanks, Rita." Ash replied with a bright smile on his face. "I'll... do my best." May nervously replied, showing an expression of uncertainty while Ash looked at her in surprise before showing a confident smile; he had a feeling that her nerves were just catching up to her. Just then, the group heard something on the ground and looked down to see Lotad waddling over to them before it looked up at Brock. Brock showed an expression of surprise before bending down to pick Lotad up.

"What's up, Lotad?" Brock asked. Misty was watching this and looked down to think before a bright smile crossed her face. "Brock, I think Lotad wants to come along with you." Misty suggested. Brock showed an expression of surprise at this suggestion and then he turned his head up to Nicole, wondering what she had to say about it.

"Is that okay, Nicole?" he asked. Nicole showed a bright smile before she nodded in agreement.

"That's perfectly alright with me." Nicole replied. "It obviously likes you a lot." Natalie commented. "You've got to take good care of it now, okay?" Rita cheerfully asked. Brock showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.

"Oh yeah, you can count on that. Would you like to come travelling with us, Lotad?" Brock asked, turning his head to Lotad to make sure that it was okay with this arrangement too. Lotad showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement, to which the group all brightly smiled. "That's great! Then that means you and I are a team now." Brock replied. Lotad happily nodded in agreement; he had a feeling he was going to enjoy being on Brock's team.

With this, Ash and the others started to make their way off waving to Nicole, Rita and Natalie as they left; they were on their way to their next stop of Rustboro City, which they hoped wouldn't be too far away.

Meanwhile, in another area of the forest, the Rocket Trio were continuing their trek to Rustboro City and they were thinking about the conversation they overheard between May and Natalie the other night. "I can't believe what I heard from them. The twerpette is in love with our twerp, the one that would never understand the concept of love!" Meowth exclaimed, staring with an expression of shock as he was trying to register what he had heard.

Jessie simply showed a bright smile and crossed her arms. "Well, all I can say is it's about time! I was getting worn thin by seeing him not get it at all, so it's nice to know that someone finally managed to get it through that thick skull of his." Jessie commented. James nodded in agreement; he couldn't agree with Jessie's thoughts on the matter anymore than he did now. But then an expression of concern crossed his face as there was something he didn't think about. "But will we know if he feels the same way about her?" he asked.

"We'll know for sure when we find them when we get to Rustboro City!" Jessie retorted, staring at James in annoyance while he jumped from surprise at her outburst. Jessie then looked up to think, placing a hand underneath her chin. "Um... how long should it be until we get there?" she then asked.

"At the pace we're walking at, it should take us another day at the very least." Meowth replied. Jessie then showed an expression of annoyance at this reply and she started to run off ahead. "Well then, let's pick up the pace so we can get there quicker!" Jessie replied, while James and Meowth watched in surprise.

"Jessie, wait for us!" James called as he and Meowth started to run after Jessie so they could catch up with her. "Yeah, don't leave us behind!" Meowth agreed. It was very safe to say that for the Rocket Trio, their road so far had been anything but easy.


	13. Taking The Contest Stage

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 13: Taking The Contest Stage**

Ash, May, Brock and Misty were continuing their trek towards Rustboro City, having just left from the Flower Shop and they were continuing their way through a lovely field with bushes that had bright red roses growing on either side of them. As the four were walking, May was having a look at the PokeNav to see where they were and she turned her glance to look up at the roses with a bright smile of awe on her face. She then turned her attention back to the PokeNav so she could keep track of where they were before looking up to see that just up ahead was a building. "Hey, guys, look at that!" May said, pointing to the building up ahead. The others turned their heads to the road ahead and saw that sure enough, there was a large bright yellow building with a round light purple roof and a big square shaped sign on the front of the building that was red and yellow which also had a red ribbon shape in the centre of the yellow colour and had 'Pokemon Competition' written in big black letters. As the group looked at the building with bright smiles, May grabbed her guidebook out of her bag so she could find out what this was. After a few seconds, she found the right page and had a look at it. "I think this might be Rustboro Hall." May commented. Ash's smile then grew larger in excitement hearing this.

"I guess that means we must already be in Rustboro City, and I'm ready for my Gym Battle!" Ash cheered, pumping a fist up in the air in excitement with Pikachu following suit behind him. May showed a smile of amusement seeing his excitement while Brock and Misty stared at him in surprised silence. Misty then had a look at the map in May's guidebook to see where they were currently, before she turned her glance back to Ash.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Ash, but Rustboro City is on the other side of this field, and we probably still have another day's walk to get there at the very least." Misty commented. Upon hearing this, Ash let out a sigh of dismay and collapsed on the ground with his legs sticking up in the air while the others stared at him in surprise. May then showed a bright smile as she figured out a positive outlook to this predicament.

"Hey, looking on the plus side, you'll have more time to get ready for the Gym Battle when we get there." May commented, to which Brock and Misty both nodded in agreement, as they didn't want to see Ash feeling down about the situation like this. As soon as Ash heard this, he quickly jumped back up on his feet with a bright smile and nodded; he didn't really think about that in his annoyance at the fact that they hadn't arrived in Rustboro City yet.

"Oh yeah, that's right! And then when we get there, we'll be ready for whatever the Gym Leader throws at us. Thanks, May." Ash said, turning to May with a bright smile. May felt a bright smile cross her face and she started to rub her arm from shyness. "Oh, don't mention it..." she quietly replied. As the four resumed walking, they could see a young man brushing his Persain with a small comb, a young woman spraying water on her Flaffy with a water hose, to which the Pokemon in question shook itself dry and a young man practicing some sort of move with his Slugma, as it started to shoot small blasts of fire up into the air. Ash showed an expression of puzzlement as he started to wonder what all of these Trainers could be doing.

"It doesn't look like they're getting ready for battling..." Ash said, to which Pikachu nodded in agreement; he was noticing the same thing. As Misty was having a look around at the sight, she looked back at Rustboro Hall and a bright smile crossed her face as she had an idea, and she pointed at the hall to which the others looked with her in surprise. "I'll bet they're getting for the Pokemon Contest that will be taking place in there." Misty suggested.

"A Pokemon Contest?" May asked, staring up at Rustboro Hall in surprise. As she was wondering what the Contest could be about, she suddenly heard something coming her way and turned her head to see what it was and before she had a chance, a butterfly-like Pokemon landed on her face. The Pokemon in question had a pair of black wings that had large yellow markings on the top section, and dark blue and red marking on the bottom section, along with a long and curled black proboscis, a grey face with big blue eyes, a grey underside, four stubby limbs and two black antennae extending out of its head; it was a Beautifly. As Beautifly landed on her face, it caused May to lose her balance and drop down onto the ground, landing on her back while the others stared in shock. "May!" Ash gasped, with an expression of worry quickly showing on his face.

After a few seconds, May got up on her feet finding Beautifly stuck to her face. "Get off me!" May snapped, as she flailed her arms rapidly with her voice muffled. Beautifly seemed to comply as it flew off May's face, showing May's expression of panic while Ash grabbed out his Pokedex to find out what kind of Pokemon this was as he and the others watched this in surprise. "Beautifly, the Butterfly Pokémon. Beautifly have long, thin noses which can extend to suck the pollen out of flowers." The Pokedex explained. Beautifly floated in the air as it slowly flapped its wings for a few seconds before it landed on top of May's head much to her annoyance. "Get off!" May yelled before she let out a sigh of dismay, realising that Beautifly wasn't going to leave her alone. Ash, Brock and Misty were all watching this and they couldn't help themselves showing bright smiles.

"It looks like you have a new friend, May." Ash commented. "Yeah, I think that Beautifly likes you." Misty agreed, nodding. May didn't seem to share her friends' enthusiasm about this because she started to shake her head back and forth rapidly to try and get Beautifly to get off. "It's not funny!" May snapped; even though she was sure that the others weren't exactly laughing at her, the fact they were watching this with bright smiles didn't really help matters out for her when she wasn't as happy about this as they were.

"I'm so sorry!" Hearing that call, Ash and the others turned their glances to see two people running over to them; one of them was a young man with a Venomoth flying in the air beside him and he was wearing a dark green top along with grey short pants and dark blue and yellow shoes and he also had dark purple eyes and short dark purple eyes, and the other was a young woman wearing a light yellow top and small necklace around her neck, along with a long bright red skirt and dark red shoes, and she had light green eyes and short light brown eyes; from the expression of concern on her face, it seemed that she was Beautifly's Trainer. "Are you okay?" The young man asked as the two ran over to see what was happening. The young woman quickly caught Brock's eye as a big smile crossed his face and a blush started to streak across his face.

"Hello!" Brock happily exclaimed. Without any hesitance, he ran over and grabbed the young woman's hands while she stared in surprise. "Is your mother a great artist? Because you're a work of art, pretty as a picture..." While Brock was talking, Beautifly flew off May's head and made its way over to Brock before dropping on his head, causing him to stop while he was talking and lowered his head down. The young woman stared with an expression of shock while Misty showed a smile of amusement at the fact that Beautifly just saved her the trouble of making Brock stop herself.

"Apparently, Beautifly shares the same thought that I have: right now, Brock's canvas is a blank slate. I like Beautifly already." Misty cheekily commented before she covered her mouth with one of her hands, trying to hold in her giggling while Ash and May were watching this in surprise, with May showing a smile of relief at the fact that Beautifly had decided to leave her alone for a few minutes.

"Beautifly, stop that!" The young woman cried, with Beautifly turning its head up to look at her wondering what the problem was. While this was happening, Ash, May and Misty walked over to see what was going on. "Hi there! Were you training Beautifly to get ready for the Pokemon Contest?" Misty asked, showing a bright smile as she waved to the two Trainers. The young woman lifted her head up to the group showing a nervous smile at the mistake she made.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I was, but some of the attacks went a little bit wrong." The young woman nervously explained. "That's probably my fault. Venomoth's Whirlwind attack was too strong; it was a hopeless failure." The young man added, showing a nervous smile as he turned his head to Venomoth as it landed on his shoulder with the young woman turning her head to him as well before the two both looked back at Ash and the others so they could introduce themselves to them.

"My name's Janet, by the way." The young woman said. "And I'm Chaz. How's it going?" The young man added as the two both showed bright smiles deciding not to worry about their earlier mistake. Ash, May and Misty all showed bright smiles as well while Brock still had his head lowered from Beautifly having landed on him while he was talking.

"It's nice to meet you two. My name's Ash." Ash replied. "I'm May." May happily greeted. "And my name's Misty." Misty added.

Brock then lifted his head up with a big smile as Beautifly jumped off his head, flapping its wings slowly so it was back up in the air. "I'm Brock, your future boyfriend!" Brock happily exclaimed. Misty stared down at him in annoyance before she grabbed him by the ear and started to drag him away while the others watched in surprise.

"At the rate you're going, your future as a boyfriend to any girl is looking pretty shaky." Misty commented. "Ow, ow, not the ear! Not the ear!" Brock groaned as Misty dragged him away behind her. Ash and May both watched with Ash showing a smile of amusement and May staring in surprise before the two turned their glances back to Chaz and Janet, with Ash showing an expression of puzzlement.

"There's something I don't understand about what you said, Chaz. How can a powerful attack be a failure?" Ash asked. May turned her head to him hearing him ask this, and then she turned her glance up to think about it how that worked. "I guess there must be a difference in how attacks work between battles and Pokemon Contests." May suggested, while Ash turned his head to her and nodded in understanding with a smile showing on his face; if what May was saying was true, that would make a lot of sense. Chaz and Janet both turned to May and nodded in agreement.

"That's right. The thing to know is that Contest battling isn't like a normal Pokemon battle." Chaz agreed. "It's about the beauty of the attack, not its raw power." Janet added. Ash could only stare in puzzlement hearing this, as it didn't really make a lot of sense to him.

"The beauty of an attack?" Ash asked. Janet nodded in confirmation as Beautifly flew over to rest on her shoulder. "That's right. We're Pokemon Coordinators and we train Pokemon to be graceful." Janet replied. Ash could only show an expression of puzzlement and he started to scratch the side of his head.

"Coordinator?" Ash quietly asked himself as he was wondering what all of this meant; since that was the first time he had ever really heard of Pokemon Contests, learning about what they required and how they worked didn't really make a lot of sense to him since he was more accustomed to actually battling. As May was listening to this explanation, she suddenly remembered what she had heard about it while she was at Trainers' School when she was little...

_One afternoon at the Trainer's School, eight year old May was walking down the hallway during lunch break and she was having a look around when she noticed one particular room, and she had a look up at the door to see that the writing on the front of the door said 'Coordinator Class'. May showed an expression of surprise looking at the writing. "Coordinator Class? What could this be about?" May wondered, tilting her head out of curiosity. With this, she walked over and opened the door and poked her head into the room to be met with a surprising sight: the students were gathered together in a circle watching one of their classmates giving a practice appeal with one of the Pokemon supplied. As May watched this display, she slowly walked over to have a closer look while making sure she didn't get spotted, and then she ducked down under one of the tables to watch the class on. "Wow... what's this?" May asked, slowly showing a bright smile._

_As May was watching this, she saw that the class were walking back to their seats, so she quickly crawled out from under the table and rushed out of the room before she could get spotted. She could then hear what sounded like a video playing and poked her head up to look through the glass; she couldn't quite hear what the video was saying, but she did hear the teacher explain that if someone wins in a Pokemon Contest, they got a Contest Ribbon and if they got five Ribbon, they had the chance to participate in the Grand Festival. May showed a bright smile as she listened intently to the class; she was really starting to like the idea of being in a Pokemon Contest... _

Once May remembered this, a bright smile quickly crossed her face. "I heard about Pokemon Contests at Trainers' School! Isn't that when the winner gets a cute Contest Ribbon?" May happily asked. Ash and the others turned to her with expression of surprise, wondering when she heard about what Pokemon Contests were, while Janet showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"That's exactly right! And they look just like these." Janet replied, before showing a bright orange case with a black zip belt in the middle along the side and opened it up to show two ribbons in the case; one was a lovely dark green colour with light green sides and a gold centre in the shape of a circle with a crown on the top and the other was bright purple with white sides and the gold centre was in the shape of a heart with a matching crown on the top.

"No way! You already have two of them?" May exclaimed, showing a bright smile as she looked at the two ribbons in awe. "Would you like to have a look at the ribbon I won, May?" Chaz asked, showing his yellow ribbon case and opening it up to reveal the one ribbon he had. May had a look at both the cases and her smile grew larger; the more she was learning about Contests and what they were like, it made her want to enter the one that was happening now.

"That's so cool! Now I want to win one too!" May excitedly exclaimed. She then turned her head to the others with a bright smile, her excitement level now shooting sky high as she was loving the idea of Pokemon Contests. "Come on, guys, let's go and see if we can enter the Contest!" May suggested. The others all stared at her in surprise seeing how excited she was getting by this, but then they looked at each other and started to smile before nodding in agreement, figuring that it did sound like a good idea.

"Pokemon Contests do sound like a lot of fun, so why not?" Ash asked. Brock and Misty both turned their heads to him and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea." Brock agreed. "Come on, let's all enter the Contest!" Misty cheered, raising an arm up into the air with Togepi happily chirping in her arms.

Chaz and Janet then both turned to each other, seeing the group's excitement about wanting to enter the Contest. "I know the spots are limited; I wonder if it's too late at this point." Janet commented. "I don't think so. The Contest doesn't start for another few hours, but we should probably hurry." Chaz replied. Ash and the others nodded in agreement and with this, the group started to make their way over to the Contest Hall to find out if there was still a chance for them to register.

Meanwhile, the Rocket Trio were making their way down the path leading towards the Contest Hall as they were trying to get to Rustboro City. "Well, we finally made it out of Petalburg Woods. How far should it be until we get there?" Jessie asked, turning her head to James as she was wondering how far they still had left to go. James had a look at the guidebook he was carrying with him to have a look at the map and then he looked up with a bright smile.

"Well... I have some good news and bad news about that. The good news is we shouldn't be too far; Rustboro City is just on the other side of this field." James replied. Jessie and Meowth both showed matching smiles of delight at this as they knew they wouldn't have too much further to walk. "But the bad news is it should take us at least another day's worth of walking." James then added. As soon as they heard that, Jessie and Meowth's smiles faded and they let out sighs of dismay before lowering their heads to the ground.

"Oh, why didn't anyone tell me that getting there would take this long? Getting to Pewter City was nowhere near as exhausting as this." Jessie sighed. "You're telling me..." Meowth quietly agreed. As he lifted his head up, an expression of surprise quickly appeared on his head and he blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing things properly. "Hey, look at that!" Meowth stated, pointing ahead. Jessie and James both looked with him to see what he had found and noticed that just in the middle of the field in front of them was a Contest Hall. "What do you suppose that could be?" Meowth asked.

James had a look down at his guidebook to find out before turning his head back up to the other two. "I think that's Rustboro Hall." James replied. Jessie stared in silence for a few seconds before a bright smile quickly crossed her face and she clasped her hands together in excitement, much to the surprise of both James and Meowth. "And they're holding a Pokemon Contest! I've been waiting to enter one of these again." Jessie happily commented. James and Meowth both showed matching expressions of puzzlement seeing just how excited Jessie was at the sight of the Pokemon Contest.

"How do you even know about these Contests, Jess?" Meowth asked. Jessie turned around to face the two, since she was more than happily to clear up their confusion on the whole matter.

"Don't you two remember that I visited Hoenn once before? While I was here, I entered in a Pokemon Contest. It didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted to, but it was a lot of fun!" Jessie explained. She then reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a small card that was light purple and had a dark blue Ribbon symbol on the front along with a yellow logo and some numbers written in black that were a bit hard to make out. "I even saved the pass I used to enter. And what better time is there to pick up where I left off than now! Come on, you two. Let's move!" Jessie stated, before she started to make her way over to the front entrance while James and Meowth trailed behind her.

As the three arrived at the Contest Hall, the door automatically opened, allowing them to step inside and they looked around to see that there were a few Trainers in the lobby who had already registered for the Contest. It didn't take them long to find the front desk and they noticed that sitting behind the desk was a young woman with short dark brown hair and she was wearing a white work dress that was also maroon and light blue coloured at the top half along with a yellow button on the side, and she was typing on a computer on the desk. "Excuse me?" Jessie asked as she, James and Meowth walked up to the front desk, with Meowth grabbing hold of the desk and pulling himself up to watch with a big smile. The young woman lifted her head up to see the Rocket Trio and showed a bright smile.

"Oh, good day. Can I help you?" she asked. She was then met with a surprise as Jessie showed her Contest Pass. "I'd like you to enter me in the Contest." Jessie stated, with her and James showing matching bright smile. The young woman had a look at the Pass for a few seconds before turning her head to Jessie.

"I'm sorry, but this Pass is expired, so you don't qualify for Contest entry." The woman explained. That didn't sit well with Jessie, because she showed an expression of annoyance before leaning closer to the desk and placing her hand against it while James and Meowth both watched in surprise. "I'm sorry; I don't think I heard you correctly!" Jessie snapped.

"Then I'll say it again: your card's expired." The woman replied. Jessie then let out a sigh of dismay upon hearing this; she had a feeling that maybe it wouldn't have been such a good idea to hold on to her card for so long if she knew that she wouldn't be able to use it any more. Luckily, the young woman showed a smile as she was able to make a suggestion. "There is a chance I could renew your Pass for you." she suggested. Jessie's ears quickly perked up hearing this and then she turned her head back to the woman with a bright smile.

"Oh, why, thank you! That would be divine!" Jessie happily replied. She then handed her old pass to the young woman, who took it before having a look in one of the cupboards behind the desk and grabbing out one of the new passes, which was light green and had a dark blue Ribbon symbol in the centre along with a gold logo on the side and some black writing that was hard to understand, and showing it to Jessie. "Here you are; your new Contest Pass." The woman said. Jessie's smile grew wider at the sight of her new Pass and she quickly grabbed it to have a look at it before turning her glance back to the young woman.

"Thank you so much." Jessie said. As she, James and Meowth turned to make their way back outside, Jessie then started to happily giggle before spinning around in excitement while James and Meowth turned their heads to each other in surprise, realising just how excited she was to be entering in this Contest. "Yes, I'm in! Now all there's left to do is start figuring out what Pokemon I want to use when I get up onto that stage." Jessie commented. James and Meowth both tilted their heads from curiosity, wondering just why she was getting so invested in all of this.

"Jessie, I'm just wondering: why are you so interested in entering this Contest?" James asked. Jessie turned her head to the two, showing a bright smile as she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. "Well, we're working on building a new reputation for ourselves, right? That means we need to start finding new things for us to do now that we're out of Team Rocket. And working on becoming a Pokemon Coordinator sounds like the perfect place for me to start!" Jessie explained. Meowth showed a big smile at this reply while James could only stare in wordless silence before an expression of worry slowly came to his face, as he was starting to think about what finding new careers paths would mean for their team. "Come on, let's see if we can figure out how to get ready for the Contest!" Jessie then added. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement before following her out into the field, just in time to avoid getting spotted by Ash and the others as they were walking over to step inside the Contest Hall so they could register.

"So that many people will probably be entering?" Misty asked, showing an expression of surprise; she and the others had been listening to Chaz and Janet telling them about how the placements would probably be limited by the time they wanted to register. "Yeah, that's right. So I'm not sure if we'll all be able to get in, but hopefully there should still be room." Chaz replied. Ash had been listening to this before he turned his head to May.

"Hey, May?" he asked. May turned her glance to Ash with an expression of surprise, wondering what was up. "If there are still places available, why don't we enter the Contest together?" Ash suggested. Pikachu quickly showed a big smile at this idea and nodded in agreement, as he really wanted to see the two take place in the Contest together and hopefully both make it in as well. May slowly showed a bright smile at this idea and nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" May happily commented. She then looked down to think with her smile growing bigger and her cheeks starting to glow bright red. _'If Ash and I are able to get into the Contest, then maybe this could be a chance for me to impress him when I get up onto the stage. When he sees how good of a performance I can give, he'll probably be amazed and that could be just the push I need to finally tell him how I feel! That would be a dream come true! Yay!" _May gleefully cheered to herself, while Ash simply watched her seeing how thrilled she looked and couldn't help giggling to himself.

"Feeling excited about entering the Contest, huh?" he asked. May nearly jumped upon hearing Ash ask that as she was snapped out of her daze and then she turned her head to him and showed a nervous smile before rubbing the back of her head. "Uh... yeah, I guess so." May replied before letting out a nervous smile while Ash stared at her for a few seconds before nodding in understanding.

Soon the group arrived inside the Contest Hall, and Ash and the others started to look around as they approached the front desk, where the young woman lifted her head up from her computer to notice them. "Can I help you all today?" she asked. As the group stopped in front of the desk, May was quick to speak up as she stepped forward and placed her heads on the desk. "I'd like to register me and Ash in the Pokemon Contest, please." May said, turning her glance to Ash as the two brightly smiled at each other. The young woman turned her head down to the computer and typed something on it, looking down at the places that were still available, before looking back up at the group.

"I'm sorry, but it looks there is only one spot left in the Contest." The woman said. The group all stared in surprise at this before May looked down with an expression of dismay, letting out a sigh as she lowered her glance down to the floor.

"No way..." May groaned. _'Well, there go my chances of having Ash enter the Contest with me...' _Almost at an instant, May could see her chances of having Ash and the others watching her slip away from her, and that was something she didn't want. Luckily, Janet seemed to take notice of May's disappointment as she was quick to make a suggestion.

"Is it possible for you to register May in the Contest and issue passes for everyone else to watch?" Janet asked. The woman behind the desk showed a bright smile and nodded. "Of course I can." With this, she started to type on the computer before showing a Contest Pass for May so she could enter and passes for the others so they were allowed to watch the Contest. Soon, the others were outside looking at their passes; they were all light green with a dark blue Ribbon symbol on the front as well as a gold logo near the bottom right.

"You'll need those Passes to enter the arena, so make sure you don't lose them." Janet said. "It's too bad we all couldn't enter the Contest, but at least we get to observe." Brock commented. May nodded in agreement with a bright smile; while she was still feeling a bit disappointed that Ash wouldn't be able to enter the Contest with her, she was at least glad that he and the others would be able to watch her performance. Just then, Beautifly decided to pick this time to fly over and land on May's head again, prompting her to look up at it with an expression of annoyance.

"Hey, why don't you try looking for somewhere else to sit?" May asked. However, it seemed that Beautifly had become attached to her and wasn't planning on leaving her alone anytime soon. As Misty watched this, she looked down to think for a few moments before a bright smile came to her face as an idea clicked in her head.

"Hey, May! Since your performance in the Contest won't be for a little while, how about you be Janet or Chaz's assistant?" Misty suggested, while Togepi showed a big smile and cheerfully nodded in agreement. May turned her head in surprise to Misty at that suggestion before she started to shake her head while showing a nervous smile. "What, me? Misty, there's no way..." May started, but she was interrupted when Janet spoke up showing a bright smile.

"I think Misty has a great idea. I'd love for you to be my Pokemon assistant, May." Janet replied. May showed an expression of surprise at this reply and then turned her head to Janet, while Ash stood beside her and he had been listening to all of this as well. "You really mean it?" May asked in surprise. Chaz was watching this from sitting in front of the Contest Hall with Venomoth resting on his arm and two cans of Pokemon food placed beside him.

"I'm sure that Beautifly thinks that's a good idea as well." Chaz said. He then turned to Venomoth before showing it a handful of Pokemon food, to which Venomoth started munching on. Brock seemed to make notice of this because he walked over to find out what it was Chaz was giving Venomoth.

"Those are Poke Blocks, right?" Brock asked. "Yeah, they are. I always use them as a snack along with their main diet of Pokemon food." Chaz replied. He then turned to Brock before showing a handful of different kinds of Poke Blocks, all of which had different colours. "Would you like to try some yourself?" he offered.

Brock stared in silence for a few seconds before holding his hands out, to which Chaz dropped a few Poke Blocks into them for Brock to have a look at what kinds of Poke Blocks there were.

"You mix Berries in when you make them, right? And the different types of Poke Block depend on the kinds of Berries you mix into it." Brock commented, grabbing a small Poke Block that was light blue and placing it into his mouth before munching on it.

"That's right. Everyone kind of makes their own recipe." Chaz replied, nodding in agreement while Janet walked over as this was happening. "I created my recipe from making the best Beautifly Poke Block." Janet added. Ash, May and Misty were all listening to this as well and they all showed smiles of fascination before Ash and Misty both turned their heads to look to Beautifly while May turned her glance up noticing the Butterfly Pokemon sitting on top of her head.

"Wow, really? Then that would probably explain why Beautifly's wings looks so beautiful." Misty commented, as she could see that Beautifly's wings looked like they were shining in the sunlight. Just then, Beautifly jumped off May's head and started to fly around Misty in a circle, much to her surprise. "What's wrong, Beautifly? Was it something I said?" Misty asked, showing an expression of concern; she was starting to worry that she might have said something to make Beautifly mad at her.

"Beautifly's just thanking you for the compliment, and I should really be saying thank you too." Janet replied. The others, with the exception of Chaz, all showed matching expressions of surprise at this. "Really? Why are you thanking me?" Misty asked, while Beautifly hovered back over to May to rest on her head again.

"It's so nice to hear someone praise the Pokemon I trained." Janet replied. Ash and the others all quickly showed bright smiles at this reply, as they all liked that feeling themselves.

"I know what you mean, Janet!" Ash happily commented. "Yeah, so do I!" May added, nodding in agreement. "Same here." Misty agreed, while Togepi happily chirped in her arms, which caused Misty to look down at her with a bright smile, hearing that she felt the same way as well.

"Yeah, it really does feel good." Brock agreed. "It really makes you feel proud of all the hard work and energy you put into training your Pokemon." Chaz commented. The others all nodded in agreement, while May turned her glance back up at Beautifly sitting on her head; it wasn't too hard for her to see now why Beautifly was so happy hearing Misty compliment it. "Say, are you guys going to be heading over to Rustboro City for a Gym Battle?" Chaz asked.

"Yeah; that's our next stop. Pikachu and I are good to go!" Ash replied, turning his head to Pikachu while the two showed matching bright smiles. "(That's right!)" Pikachu cheerfully replied, nodding in agreement. May couldn't help herself smiling seeing Ash's excitement, while she was looking forward to supporting Ash during the battle when they arrived in Rustboto, and she was also looking forward to hopefully spending some alone time with him in the city. Chaz and Janet both showed expression of concern hearing this.

"You're planning on battling with Pikachu?" Chaz asked. "That might be difficult." Janet commented, turning her head to Chaz while showing an expression of concern as he looked over at her as well. Ash and the others could only stare in surprise, wondering what exactly they were talking about.

"What? Is there something wrong?" Ash asked. Chaz then turned his head to Ash showing an expression of concern. "You see, Ash, the Rustboro City Gym Leader is a Rock Type Gym Leader." Chaz said. Ash then looked down to think about this: he knew for sure that Pikachu wouldn't do very well battling against Rock Types, but he still had Treecko, Larvitar and Riolu; those three would have a significant advantage in the battle due to them being a Grass Type, a Ground Type and most likely a Fighting Type respectively. As May and Misty were both listening to this, Misty turned her head to May as there was something she quickly realised.

"May, I think the Gym Leader might be a bit of a challenge for you too." Misty commented. May turned her glance to Misty with an expression of surprise wondering what she meant. "I don't think Torchic or Wurmple will be able to do much against Rock Types." Misty explained. May was silent for a few moments before she turned her glance up to think; this left her with only two Pokemon she could use, Azurill and Ralts. She knew that Azurill knew Water Gun, so she would able to help a lot there, but she wasn't quite certain about how well Ralts would fare with battling against Rock Types given her current move set of Confusion, Growl and her new Disarming Voice attack.

At the same time, Chaz seemed to have an idea as he stood up with a bright smile. "Hey, Ash, does your Pikachu know any good moves that might help out against Rock Type Pokemon?" he asked. Ash stared in silence for a few moments before shaking his head; he didn't remember Pikachu knowing any moves like that. "Well, if I told you there was a way to learn that attack, do you think you'd be interested?" Chaz asked. Ash quickly perked up hearing this, and then he showed a bright smile before nodding.

"Yeah, I'd love to hear it!" Ash replied. "(Same here!)" Pikachu added, nodding in agreement.

"Okay then. Are you up for a crash course?" Chaz asked, nodding in confirmation before turning his head to May, wanting to know if she wanted to learn this as well, but May quickly showed a nervous smile.

"Uh... thanks for the offer. I'd like to join you, but I think it's time for me to start getting ready for the Contest. I would really like to know what I want to do when I get up on the stage for my performance." May replied. Janet showed a bright smile at this idea before turning her glance to May. "Would you like me to show you what to do?" she offered. May turned her head to Janet and cheerfully nodded in agreement, so the two started to walk over to a reclusive area of the field so they could start with training.

Soon, the two were standing by themselves with Janet ready to start with the explanation while May was listening intently. "All right, May, the first round in the Pokemon Contest is the Appeal Round. This gives your Pokemon a chance to show what they can do and what kind of performance they can give using the moves they know. The best performances then move on to the second round where Coordinators battle one another for the chance to win a Contest Ribbon." Janet explained. May nodded in understanding listening to this, and then she grabbed out the four Pokeballs holding the members of her team.

"Come on out, everyone!" May said, throwing the Pokeballs up in the air, causing them to open and release Torchic, Azurill, Ralts and Wurmple who all stood on the ground in front of her. Once everyone was out, May bent down to them. "All right, everyone, it's time to start our Contest training. We need to give a performance that will blow everyone who comes to see us away, so let's give this training everything we've got!" May explained, showing a confident smile. All of her Pokemon seemed to agree with this, as they all started to jump in the air and cheer, with the exception of Ralts who looked down with an expression of uncertainty, while May simply watched the others in excitement; this was the chance for her to make an amazing first impression.

Back with Ash, he was ready to watch Chaz as the latter released his Sentret from its Pokeball, who cheerfully stood up on its tail while it was standing beside a large rock. Once Sentret was out, Chaz turned his head to Ash while the latter watched in surprise. "Now we're going to teach Pikachu Iron Tail." Chaz said.

"Iron Tail?" Ash asked, looking up at Chaz in surprise. "Let's start with a demonstration." Chaz replied. With this, he turned to Sentret and pointed towards the rock beside the Pokemon. "Sentret, use Iron Tail on this rock!" Chaz stated. With this, Sentret leapt up into the air with its tail starting to glow white and slammed its tail onto the rock, breaking it effortlessly much to Ash and Pikachu's awe.

"No way!" Ash exclaimed. "(No way!)" Pikachu gasped at the same time as Ash. As the two watched, small pieces of rock landed in front of them much to their amazement of seeing just how strong this attack was.

"That's amazing..." Ash commented. "(I'll say.)" Pikachu commented, nodding in agreement with him. Chaz showed a bright smile seeing how awestruck the two were and turned his head to them.

"You see how effective this kind of attack can be against Rock Type Pokemon? But only a Pokemon with a fully developed tail can use this kind of attack." Chaz explained. Ash and Pikachu both turned to him and nodded in agreement; that meant they knew exactly what kind of training they had to do.

Soon, Pikachu was pulling on a small rock that had been tied to his tail by a rope while Ash was pushing push ups behind him. "Come on, Pikachu! We've got to build some strength in your tail if we're going to have a chance of winning." Ash explained. Pikachu turned his head to Ash and nodded with an expression of determination; he was willing to do how much training was necessary if he wanted to pull off using Iron Tail.

Meanwhile with May, she was busy training with her Pokemon to figure out what Appeal she was going to use. "All right, Azurill, it's your turn now! Use Bubble in the air!" May said, pointing up to the sky. Azurill turned her head up and shot out a stream of bubbles from her mouth that floated up into the air, with the sunlight reflecting off the bubbles to give them the appearance of glittering in the air. "Now let's start jumping on them!" May happily commented. With this, Azurill bounced up into the air using her tail and starting hopping on the bubbles one by one, causing them to pop as she bounced from one bubble to another until she was high up in the sky. "And for our finish, use Water Gun!" May stated. As she was airborne, Azurill lifted her head up and shot out a blast of water into the sky, causing it to reflect off the sun's rays and show the image of a rainbow while May and the other Pokemon watched in awe. After a few seconds, Azurill dropped towards the ground and landed safely on her tail while the water blast splashed down around them. "All right, great job, Azurill! That would make a great performance!" May cheered. Azurill turned her head to May and showed a bright smile before nodding in agreement.

While this was happening, Ralts was watching on in silence, sitting a little distance away from the team so she could watch. "(Look at everyone; they're all working hard so they'll be able to help May when we get into the Pokemon Contest. I want to be able to help May and the others out too, but... how would I ever be able to manage in a hall as large as that? I mean, I'm alright with being in front of a small group like May and the others, and it's also because they're all my friends. But performing in front of such a large audience? I don't think I'd be able to manage such a feat.)" Ralts commented, showing an expression of worry at the thought of performing in front of a large audience. With this, she stood up and once she was sure that no one was looking, she snuck away to look for a more reclusive area so she could be alone. After a few moments of walking, Ralts looked around to see that there was no one around but her. "(Here seems like it would be a good place for me to practice.)" Ralts commented. Once she was certain that she was the only one around, Ralts nodded as she was ready to start practice. With this, she released light purple psychic waves before holding them still with her psychic powers as they floated in the air like a hoop. Ralts showed a bright smile seeing this, as she was ready to see if she would be able to pull this off.

Back with May, she was looking down at her Pokemon with a bright smile as they were all finished giving their practice Appeal. "Wow, great job, everyone! At this rate, there's no way we won't be able to get in. Now all there's left to do is see what Ralts can do." May said. As she turned her head to ask Ralts to come forward, she was met with a surprise when she noticed that Ralts was nowhere to be seen. "Ralts? Ralts? Where'd you go?" May asked, showing an expression of concern as she started to look around, wondering where the little Emotion Pokemon could have gone off to.

Her other Pokemon seemed to take notice as well as they started to look around for any sign of Ralts. As Torchic was darting her head back and forth, she lifted her head up when she could hear something coming from nearby and she quickly turned her glance to the others. "(Guys, I think I heard something coming from this way! I think it might be Ralts.)" Torchic said, before she started to run off ahead while the others followed behind her. "Where's everyone going? Do you know where Ralts went?" May asked, turning to see her Pokemon running off ahead before she started to rush after them; judging from the fact that Torchic was the one leading, she suspected that the chick Pokemon must have spotted something.

Soon the group of Pokemon came to a row of large bush trees and poked their heads up before showing matching expressions of awe at the sight in front of them. "What? What's up?" May asked, popping her head up to see everyone here. She then looked up to see what they were watching and she let out a silent gasp: standing there was Ralts, levitating three light purple psychic waves and three bright purple hearts over her head and spinning them around to create different shapes; it seemed that she was using Confusion and Disarming Voice at the same time. "Wow... that's amazing..." May whispered, as she watched the display with a bright smile coming to her face; she had a feeling that she had found the Pokemon she was going to use in her Appeal Round. She then looked down at Ralts and started to walk out from behind the hedge trees to see her. "Ralts?" she asked.

Ralts nearly jumped upon hearing that voice and quickly shot the psychic waves and hearts in the direction the voice came from, only to be met with a shock when she saw that it was May, who quickly jumped out of the way as the attacks flew over here. "(May! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?)" Ralts asked, showing an expression of worry.

May shook her head rapidly as she stood up properly before looking down at Ralts, with the little Emotion Pokemon showing an expression of worry that May would be upset at her for nearly attacking her by mistake. But much to Ralts's amazement, May bent down to her and she could only see a smile on May's face. "Yeah, I'm alright, Ralts. I was watching your practice performance, and it looked absolutely wonderful! I think maybe I should let you be the one to enter the Appeal Round." May happily commented. Ralts nearly froze up in fright hearing this, and started to shake slightly much to May's surprise. "Ralts, what's the matter?" May softly asked, showing an expression of concern seeing Ralts this scared. Ralts slowly turned her glance up to see May looking at her in concern and figured that maybe she should just say it.

"(Well, May... I'm actually really scared at the thought of getting up on a stage.)" Ralts said. May showed an expression of surprise at this. "Why's that? Why are you so scared?" she asked; even though she couldn't quite understand what Ralts was saying, she figured that maybe she could take a guess, like what Ash always did with Pikachu.

"(Well, I just don't know how I'd manage being up in front of a large audience. I mean, I'm fine when it's just with you and the others, but with an audience filling the Contest Hall coming in to watch me... it's just something I'm not sure I could manage with. Everyone will be there watching me, and I'll start to worry that I might make a mistake and make a fool out of myself in front of everyone... including you.)" Ralts explained, looking down in silence as she finished her sentence. May simply listened in silence to Ralts's dilemma before slowly showing a smile of understanding and then she bent down to pick Ralts up, much to the Emotion Pokemon's surprise.

"Hey, Ralts, it's alright. There's no need for you to be so worried. If I'm being honest, I'm feeling a bit nervous about getting up there as well, but I'm not thinking about that. I'm just thinking about giving the best performance I can give, and that's all I'm worrying about. I know you're feeling nervous about being up there, but everyone will be there to see us do our best out there. And that means I'll be counting on you to do your best, Ralts." May explained. She could see that Ralts was still feeling a bit uncertain about being up on the stage, but luckily she had an idea that she was sure would help Ralts. "Hey, Ralts, Ash and the others will be there to see us as well. And I have a feeling that Riolu will want to see what you can do." May said. Ralts quickly perked up hearing this and she looked up at May with an expression of surprise. May cheerfully showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "That's right; Riolu will really want to see you, right? So when you get up there, just imagine that Riolu is the only one watching you, that you're showing this performance to just him and no one else." May replied. Ralts slowly showed a bright smile at the thought of Riolu being there to watch her perform and cheerfully nodded in agreement; she was going to step up onto the stage and show everyone what she could do. "That's great, Ralts! Thank you so much." May happily commented. The other Pokemon in her team started to cheer, thrilled to hear that Ralts would do it.

"The wait is over! The Rustboro Pokemon Contest is about to get underway!" Just then, the sound of an announcement reached May's ears and she nearly jumped from alarm. "The Contest is about to start! We better get a move on to the Contest Hall!" May gasped. Without a moment to spare, she jumped up on her feet and started to rush over to the Contest Hall with her Pokemon followed behind her.

Inside the Contest Hall, the audience had already taken their seats and they were happily clapping as the Contest was about to start. In one of the front rows, Brock and Misty had gotten into their seats, and Misty was looking around with an expression of concern. "Where could Ash and May be? I don't want them to be late for the Contest." Misty commented. Brock turned his head to see Misty looking around and simply showed a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Misty. Ash is outside training with Pikachu and May has come with the other contestants. I'm sure Ash will probably make it when it's May's turn to perform." Brock explained. Misty showed a bright smile at this reply and nodded in agreement, so she turned her attention back to the stage to listen to the announcement that was taking place.

"Our panel of judges this year are Contesta, director of the Contest Committee, Sukizo from the Pokemon Enthusiast Club and Nurse Joy from Rustboro City!" The announcer stated. He then held up a ribbon that had dark red and pink along the edges, along with a gold centre in the shape of a shield with a crown on the top. "And like every year, the winner will receive this Rustboro Ribbon. Now listen up: anyone winning five ribbons from the various regional Pokemon Contests will be declared an official Top Coordinator, and give them free automatic entry in the Pokemon Grand Festival!" The announcer explained, to which the audience started to cheer loudly.

From the lobby, May and Janet were watching this on one of the TV screens with May showing a smile of awe. "Wow... that's amazing!" May happily commented.

"The most important part of the Contest is always the Pokemon's entry." Janet said. May turned her glance to Janet with an expression of surprise wondering what she meant. "First impressions really do matter. The judges will form opinions from the first attack and they take into account the degree of the Pokemon's development and its level of cooperation with its Trainer. The final decision is made based on points given by the judges. It's very exciting." Janet explained. As May listened to this, her smile of awe slowly grew bigger.

"Wow... Pokemon Contests are so amazing!" May exclaimed as she watched the various Appeals taking place on the screen; the more she was learning about Contests, the more she found herself enjoying them and wanting to compete in them.

Back outside, Ash was busy training with Pikachu with his other Pokemon out to give some assistance. "All right, let's do it!" Ash stated. He had a bunch of pink cherries in his arms and started to throw them in Pikachu's direction, to which Pikachu turned around and started smacking them back with his tail. Taillow had taken up into the air and slammed his head against a tree to knock down some red cherries which Pikachu knocked back as well. Treecko then shot his little twig out of his mouth towards Pikachu, to which Pikachu turned around and slammed his tail against it to send it flying back, after which his tail started to glow white, to Ash's awe. When Pikachu landed safely on the grass, he looked at his tail in surprise to see it glowing white for a few seconds before the glow faded. "Treecko, did you see that? I think Pikachu's tail just lit up!" Ash commented, showing a bright smile. Treecko then nodded in agreement while Taillow drifted down towards them. While this was happening, Ash could hear the sound of cheering and turned to see that on the screen on the front of the Contest Hall, Venomoth was levitating different objects in the air using Confusion such as a vase with two roses in it, a small yellow rug and a tea set.

"This is incredible! Venomoth is giving a perfect display of Confusion control!" The announcer commented.

Ash showed a bright smile as he watched the display on the screen, but then he nearly jumped from alarm as he realised what that meant. "That must mean I'm missing Chaz's turn!" he gasped.

Back inside the Contest Hall, Chaz's performance was given two tens and a nine point five, which meant his final score was a total of twenty nine point five. "That's unbelievable! These are the highest points we've seen so far!" The announcer commented. As this was happening, Ash rushed through the back door to see that Chaz's entry had already finished, and then he looked down to see Brock and Misty sitting in one of the front rows and ran over to them. "Hey, Ash, there you are! Where have you been?" Brock asked, showing a smile of surprise as he and Misty turned her heads to see him running over to take his seat beside them.

"Sorry, guys. We've been so busy working on having Pikachu learn Iron Tail that we forgot the Contest had started." Ash replied. The three then turned their attention back to the stage to see Janet stepping up with May standing beside her holding some plates.

"Our next contestant is entry number seventeen. Let's hear it for Janet!" The announcer stated, as the spotlight turned on to reveal the two standing there, to which the audience started to cheer and Ash, Misty and Brock all showed matching bright smiles.

"Look, there's May!" Ash happily commented. "I guess this means you won't have to worry about being late for when she needs to get up on the stage to give her performance." Misty said, while Togepi nodded in agreement with a happy chirp. As Janet stepped up onto the stage, she grabbed out her Pokeball which was holding Beautifly.

"It's time, Beautifly." Janet said, before throwing the Pokeball, causing it to open and release Beautifly who spread its wings out as it drifted up into the air to begin. "Go, Beautifly, use Flash!" Janet called. With this, Beautifly's wings started to shine brightly, showing a bright yellow light that lit up the entire stage. From where they were in the front row, Ash, Brock and Misty had to shield their eyes with their hands just so they could watch the rest of the performance, while Togepi covered both her eyes with her little hands. As May watched from the side, she showed a smile of awe.

"Wow..." May whispered. But then she realised that she couldn't get distracted by the spectacle and quickly rushed onto the stage as the light started to clear, before throwing the plates up towards Beautifly. Beautifly then shot out a long string of silk from its proboscis and started to smash the plates as they came towards it, leaving small pieces drifting in the air while May watched in awe. "Beautifly is building on its elegant entry by demonstrating its String Shot attack, a move that uses a whipping motion to achieve results." The announcer commented, while Beautifly's wings stopped glowing bright yellow and its proboscis retracted back towards its body.

"Beautifly, Hidden Power!" Janet called. With this, Beautifly started to charge up energy before glowing white and the energy came out in white waves, turning the plate pieces into sparkles of lights that rained down on the audience, before Beautifly drifted down and landed on Janet's hand as she stood on the stage with a bright smile. "And to top it off, a beautiful landing on the Coordinator's hand! How many points will Beautifly get?" The announcer asked.

The three judges were all watching the display in awe from where they were and their unanimous decision was a ten from all three of them, making Janet's final score a total of thirty. "And the judges all agree that Beautifly's performance deserves a perfect score!" The announcer stated, to which the audience started to cheer loudly, while May was happily clapping as she watched from the side.

From the front row, Ash, Brock and Misty were all clapping as well. "Wow, that was amazing! I think Janet really stole the show." Misty happily commented. "Well, don't forget that we still have May's performance to look forward to." Brock added. Ash turned his glance to Brock and nodded in agreement before looking back at the stage to watch the rest of the appeals.

"Yeah, that's right. I think May will be the one who steals the show; I hope she has something special planned for the last entry!" Ash stated, showing a confident smile that May would be the one who would blow the audience away, with Pikachu nodded in agreement; he was looking forward to May's entry as much as Ash was.

In the dressing room where the rest of the Coordinators were waiting for their turn to get on the stage, May was there with Janet. "Wow, Janet, your performance was amazing! I think you and Beautifly really stole the show this round." May happily commented, showing a smile of awe at Beautifly's performance. Janet simply showed a bright smile hearing this compliment and turned her head to May from she was, sitting on one of the seats.

"Thanks, May. But I couldn't have done it without you. You were great too." Janet replied. May showed a shy smile at this, as she didn't really think that she did anything that important to help. "I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of performance you have. Do your best when you get out there, May!" Janet added. May nodded in agreement with an expression of determination coming to her face; she was feeling just as anticipated to show her performance for everyone to see her, especially her friends.

Back on the stage, the announcer had returned to introduce the next entry. "Now it's time for the second last entry in the preliminary judging. Here is entry number 29: Mademoiselle Jessica!" The announcer said. With this, the spotlight lit up to reveal Jessie wearing a pair of red decorative glasses along with a long dress that was black on the top half and dark red on the bottom half and black high heels, while James and Meowth stood beside her with James wearing a uniform that matched Jessie's, except he was wearing a long black top with dark red pants and black shoes and Meowth was wearing a dark blue suit with black boots.

"Good luck, Jessie." James whispered. "Show them who the star is!" Meowth added. Jessie turned her glance to the two and showed a confident smile. "Don't worry; leave it to me." Jessie replied. With this, she stepped out onto the stage. As she was walking over, Ash, Brock and Misty quickly took notice of her from their seats.

"Hey, guys? I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me or not, but something looks... familiar about Mademoiselle Jessica." Misty commented, showing an expression of puzzlement as she started to scratch her head. "Yeah... Now that you mention it, Misty, there is something familiar about her. But... I can't quite put my finger on what it is." Brock agreed, as he leaned forward to have a closer look at Jessie in her disguise, wondering if they had seen her before.

Ash had a look with the two to notice that they were right. As he had a closer look, he could recognize the dark purple hair, the light green earrings and her light purple eyes. As soon as Ash spotted those details, an expression of alarm came to his face. _'Is that... Jessie? Why would she be entering a Pokemon Contest?' _Ash asked himself. Before he had a chance to figure out what was going on, Jessie grabbed out a Pokeball and held it up into the air.

"Go, Seviper!" Jessie said before throwing the Pokeball, which opened and released Seviper who appeared on the stage. "Let's do this properly, Seviper! Now go and use Sacred Fire!" Jessie stated, pointing at Seviper. However, Seviper simply stared at her in silence while James and Meowth watched from the side in disbelief.

"Uh oh..." Meowth worriedly commented. "I'm not sure Seviper knows how to use that attack..." James added. Jessie showed an expression of irritation upon seeing that this wasn't going the way she wanted.

"Come on! Use Sacred Fire! What are you waiting for?!" Jessie snapped. Seviper stared in silence for a few moments before she started to shake her head rapidly, to which Jessie showed an expression of surprise. "So... you don't know it?" Jessie asked. However, she was quick to try and bounce back. "All right, use Water Pulse!" Seviper started rapidly shaking her head again. "Then use Blaze Kick!" Seviper started to shake her head again, this time more rapidly while James and Meowth watched in silence.

"Awkward..." James commented. "I guess Seviper ain't learnt no attacks." Meowth stated. Wobbuffet then popped out of his Pokeball as he blurted "Wobbuffet!" As this was happening, Jessie nearly jumped from alarm before she quickly grabbed out a guide on Pokemon moves to see if that would help her out in any way. While this was happening, Ash, Misty and Brock all looked at each other in bewilderment from their seats.

"Does Mademoiselle Jessica know what she's doing?" Ash whispered. "Judging from the way her performance is going, I guess not." Misty replied, showing an expression of dismay at the display in front of them.

"All right, let's see here..." Jessie commented to herself. After a few seconds of reading, she turned her head up to Seviper. "Do you know Dragon Claw? What about Psywave? Luster Purge?" Jessie asked. As Seviper heard each attack being said to her, sweat started to pour down on her face until it was coming down like a waterfall, to which Jessie let out a scream of frustration. "Would somebody please wake me up from this terrible nightmare?!" she cried.

While all this was going on, the audience were starting to boo Jessie's lacklustre performance. "You're wasting our time and money!" A man snapped. "Why did she even enter?" A woman asked. The judges seemed to share the same thoughts with Contesta having his arms crossed and an expression of disappointment on his face, Sukizo having rested his head in his hand with an expression of dismay on his face and Nurse Joy showing a nervous smile. From their seats, Ash, Brock and Misty turned their heads to see a large amount of the audience booing the performance.

"I think it's safe to say that Mademoiselle Jessica's performance isn't faring very well with the crowd." Brock commented. "That is, if you can even call this a performance." Misty added, showing an expression of annoyance at the fact that this was taking forever. As he watched while sitting on Ash's lap, Pikachu let out a sigh of dismay and started to slowly shake his head. "(Why isn't May's performance coming any faster?)" he quietly asked himself.

The Rocket Trio all showed expressions of alarm seeing the less than positive reception. "Jessie, I'm sensing a hint of crowd displeasurement! Try using a Poison Tail attack." Meowth suggested.

Jessie then showed an expression of dismay at the suggestion. "It won't work, but I'll try it." she replied. With this, she then stood upright and turned her head to Seviper. "Seviper, Poison Tail!" Jessie stated. As soon as Seviper heard this, her waterfall sweat stopped and she shook her head rapidly before her tail started to glow bright purple... before she slammed her tail right into Jessie and sent her flying into the air. "Thanks for the tip, Meowth!" Jessie yelled as she was sent flying into the air and crashed right through the roof before she was sent flying out of the Contest Hall. Seviper, James and Meowth all stared in alarm before running off the stage to catch up with Jessie. The final score for Jessie's 'performance' was a resounding zero, which Ash, Brock and Misty saw from their seats.

"Well, I guess that performance didn't go well at all." Ash commented, showing a nervous smile. "Yeah... if you could even call that a performance." Misty agreed, while Pikachu and Brock could only stare in silence as they didn't know how to respond to what just happened.

In the back room, May, Chaz and Janet were all staring at the screen in stunned silence. "How could anyone be that bad?" May asked. She then shook her head deciding not to think about it before she showed a confident smile. "Well, now that that's over, I guess it's time for me to take the stage!" May happily commented. Janet and Chaz showed bright smiles hearing May say that and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess so." Chaz replied. "Do your best out there, May." Janet added. May nodded in agreement without any hesitance; she was looking forward to giving a great performance to help finish off the Appeal round of this Contest.

Back at the stage, the announcer had come out with a nervous smile. "I apologize to all of you for having to witness that atrocious spectacle." he said. But then a bright smile quickly returned to his face as he was ready to finish off this round. "So, let's get back into the spirit of things without any further delay; there is still one more entry for the Appeals Round. Let's hope this performance will finish off this round with a bang! Without any further delay, I present entry Number Thirty: May!" The announcer said, turning his head to May as she slowly stepped out onto the stage. From their seats, Ash, Misty and Brock all showed bright smiles upon spotting her.

"Guys, look! There she is!" Ash happily stated, pointing to the stage where May was. "All right! Let's go, May!" Misty cheered, standing up from her seat in excitement. As May stepped towards the centre of the stage, she could see everyone staring at her with expressions of impatience; it seemed that they were all still sour after having to watch Jessie's performance. Upon seeing everyone glaring at her, May could only show an expression of worry.

'_Everyone must have really disliked the last performance they saw. I don't blame them given how bad it was, but... don't they want to see my performance?' _May quietly asked herself. As she looked down with an expression of worry, feeling uncertain of what to do, that was when she heard someone calling to her.

"May!" May showed an expression of surprise at this, and turned her glance to see Ash, Brock and Misty sitting in the front row so they could see her. "May, show everyone what you can do!" Brock called. "Don't worry! You'll be great!" Misty added. May showed a small smile hearing their support, and then she noticed Ash: he was simply watching her with an encouraging smile. Once May noticed this, her smile slowly grew; seeing that Ash had complete faith in her performance was all the support she needed. With this, May turned her glance back to the audience and quietly took a deep breath before slowly letting it out to calm herself down. She then felt a bright smile cross her face and she grabbed out one of her Pokeballs.

"Let's go, Ralts! Take the stage!" May said as she threw the Pokeball into the air, which opened and released Ralts who slowly twirled around before she landed safely on the stage in front of May. But as Ralts was about to get started, she noticed everyone in the audience watching her and an expression of worry crossed her face.

"(I... I wasn't expecting the audience to be this large. What if I make a mistake? I don't want to make a fool out of myself...)" Ralts worriedly said to herself, glancing down in worry and fear, which May quickly looked down to notice and showed a comforting smile. "Ralts, it's alright. Everyone's just feeling a bit impatient after the last performance. But if we're able to pull this off, I bet they'll forget all about that last performance. Now let's give them something to remember!" May whispered. Ralts turned her head to May in surprise hearing this, and then a bright smile crossed her face and she nodded in agreement before turning her attention back to the audience, deciding to take May's advice from earlier. Almost as if on cue, Riolu popped out of his Pokeball on his own to watch Ralts, much to Ash's surprise before he decided not to worry about it.

"Let's go, Ralts! Use Confusion!" May said, ready to start her Appeal. With this, Ralts sent out small purple psychic waves before holding one in place as it floated in the air above her like a hoop. "All right! Now use Disarming Voice!" May cheered. Ralts then emanated small bright purple hearts from her mouth before holding one of them in place and then moved the two so they were floating side by side above her head, before she split them into three each and started to spin them around in a circle.

"Woah... look at that!" Ash commented as he and the others watched in awe in their seats, while the rest of the audience started to watch with close attention. As Riolu watched from standing on top of Ash's seat, a bright smile crossed his face as he watched Ralts move the psychic waves and hearts to create different shapes such as a circle, a triangle and a heart while the audience watched in awe. May showed a bright smile seeing the positive reception coming her way and then she looked down at Ralts, ready to finish this off.

"Now it's for the big finish, Ralts! Let's combine them!" May said. With this, Ralts stopped spinning the psychic waves and hearts and lifted them up into the air, bringing them closer together until they exploded in a flash of bright purple, leaving purple light to rain down over May and Ralts as the two curtsied while the audience cheered, including Ash, Misty and Brock who all started to clap.

"Now that was an amazing display of Ralts's psychic control over its moves! Let's see what the judges have to say about the display." The announcer said. The judges' numbers showed two nine point fives and a ten, leaving May's total score at twenty nine, which was possibly the third highest score in the Contest. May showed a big smile upon seeing her score and then she looked down at Ralts who ran over and jumped into her arms. "Ralts, that was amazing! Can you hear everyone cheering? They loved your performance!" May happily commented. Ralts turned her head to see the audience and a bright smile slowly came to her face as she realised May was right.

A little later as May arrived back in the back room, she was met with a surprise when she saw that Ash, Misty and Brock were there. "May, that was incredible! I didn't know you had such a great performance planned." Ash excitedly exclaimed, while Pikachu nodded in agreement with a big smile. As May showed a bright smile, she looked down to see Riolu running over to Ralts, so she placed the little Emotion Pokemon down on the floor so she could see Riolu, and Ralts was caught by surprise when Riolu gave her a tight hug.

"(Ralts, that was amazing! I had no idea you would be able to pull something like that off!)" Riolu happily commented. He then took a few moments to realise what he was doing before he let Ralts go. "(Oh, uh... sorry about that. I guess I... got a bit carried away from how much I loved your performance. It was great getting to see you up on a Contest stage, but I didn't know how well you'd do. I guess what I'm trying to say is that...)" Before Riolu could get a chance to continue, he was interrupted by Ralts stepping forward and kissing him directly. Riolu was staring at a loss of words before he felt his face start to turn red as he realised what was happening. After a few seconds, Ralts let go and turned away with a shy smile.

"(Thanks for coming out to see me.)" Ralts simply said. Riolu was staring in stunned silence before a big smile slowly showed on his face and he dropped onto the floor face first, seemingly lovestruck. Ash and May both looked down to see this, Ash with an expression of surprise and May with a big smile on her face before she started giggling. "Aww, look at that! Aren't they just so adorable?" May happily gushed. The group watched this for a few moments before they turned their attention back to May.

"I have to agree with Ash, May. Your performance was a real comeback after what happened with Mademoiselle Jessica. Did you hear everyone cheering by the end of it? It was like they had completely forgotten about the last performance they had to see!" Misty commented, showing a bright smile. May couldn't help feeling her cheeks start to glow red from the compliment. "Really? Oh, thanks, Misty..." May replied, showing a shy smile in response. As this conversation was taking place, the group could then hear an announcement and turned their heads towards the screen.

"All right, everyone, the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived. I would like to present the finalists!" The announcer said, pointing up to the screen to show the four entries that would be moving on to the finals; the pictures shown on the screen were Janet, Chaz, May and another unknown person. As the group stared up at the screen, they all showed bright smiles upon seeing May.

"May, look! You made it into the finals!" Ash happily stated. "(Great job, May!)" Pikachu cheered. May simply stared at the screen in stunned silence for a few moments, like she was struggling to register what she was seeing: she had actually made it into the finals when she wasn't sure of how well she would fare being up there. She didn't actually think she would do well being in a Pokemon Contest, but yet now she could see her picture up in the top four finalists. Once a few seconds passed for May to let this sink in, she felt a big smile slowly appear on her face.

"I... actually made it in..." May quietly said to herself. After a few more seconds passed, she jumped up in the air in excitement. "Yay, this is amazing! We did it, Ralts! We're moving on to the finals!" May cheered, turning her glance down to Ralts who looked up at her and nodded in agreement, looking just as thrilled as May was. She then looked back up at the screen to notice that she would be going up against Janet. "I guess I'm going to be in for a tough battle." May commented, turning her glance to Janet.

"Yeah, I think so. But just remember to do your best while you're out there, okay?" Janet asked. May promptly nodded in agreement with an expression of determination coming to her face; she was looking forward to this battle, as there was no way she was going to back down after having come this far into the Contest now.

Outside the Contest Hall, Jessie threw her arms around Seviper with the two having tears building in their eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Seviper! Your Poison Tail was incredible!" Jessie wailed before she started to sob, while James and Meowth watched from a distance with the two having expressions of dismay.

"Well, so much for the plan of becoming a Coordinator working out..." James sighed. Meowth then looked up to think for a few moments before an idea came to his head. "Hold on a second! If these Contests are happening all throughout Hoenn, that means we just need to enter the rest of them to try and win those five Ribbons they were talking about." Meowth suggested. James nearly jumped from alarm at this idea while Jessie quickly stopped sobbing and turned around to the two with a bright smile on her face.

"Oh yes, that's right! Why didn't I think of that? And then when I win all five Contest Ribbons, I'll get the chance to compete in the Grand Festival. I could become a Coordinator star!" Jessie happily exclaimed, before letting out a laugh of excitement. Meowth happily followed suit while James could only show an expression of worry while he was listening to Jessie's idea; he didn't really like the sound of what it could mean if that dream did become a reality. Jessie didn't seem to pay attention to James's lack of enthusiasm as she quickly rushed over to the two. "Come on, you two. We need to get a move on towards Rustboro City. That's our next stop, isn't it? So, we don't have any time to waste!" Jessie said. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, while Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

Back inside the Contest Hall, May and Janet were out on the stage, this time they were standing on opposite ends as they were ready to battle. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Rustboro Contest preliminary finals are about to get underway! The first battle will be between May and Janet, and the winner is allowed to move on to the final battle stage." The announcer explained, while May and Janet stared at each other fearlessly ready to start their battle. Meanwhile, Ash, Misty and Brock were in their seats so they could watch the battle.

"I can't wait to see them battle!" Ash commented, showing a smile of excitement while Pikachu sat on his lap to watch as well. "I wonder how the battles work in Pokemon Contests, because I know for sure that they won't be the same as regular battles." Brock said, to which Ash and Misty nodded in agreement; they had a feeling there would be a difference as well. Sure enough, the screen on the wall beside the arena switched to reveal May and Janet's pictures, along with two bars that filled bright red as they were initially yellow and a clock that had the time set to five minutes.

"The five minute Contest battle will now begin!" The announcer said, at which the clock started to tick down and the battle was set to begin. May and Janet both grabbed out a Pokeball to send out the Pokemon they were going to use in the battle.

"Let's go, Torchic!" May said, throwing out her Pokeball. "Go get them, Beautifly!" Janet said, as she threw out her Pokeball. Both Pokeballs then opened to release both of their Pokemon, with Torchic landing on the arena while Beautifly hovered in the air. As the two Pokemon watched each other, May made the first move.

"All right, Torchic, use Peck!" May said. Torchic's beak started to glow white and then she started to charge towards Beautifly. "Beautifly, dodge and use Gust!" Janet called. With this, Beautifly flew out of the way as Torchic was left running towards where the Butterfly Pokemon used to be, and then Torchic turned around to be met with Beautifly flapping its wings rapidly and blowing her back, which caused May's points to go down a bit.

As the battle was occurring, Ash and the others watched the point bars in surprise. "I don't get it. How did May lose points when she was using an attack that was effective against Beautifly?" Ash asked, showing an expression of puzzlement as he was trying to make sense of how the system in Contest battles worked. "My guess is it's because Beautifly used Gust to blow Torchic away before it could get a chance to attack. I think I'm starting to hang of how these battles work: it's not just the attacks that matter, but how you defend yourself as well." Brock replied, with a smile coming to his face as he was starting to understand how Contest battles worked. Ash showed a smile of fascination at this reply and nodded in understanding before turning his attention back to the battle.

"So the battlers just keep reducing each other's points and the one with the most points in the end is the winner. This kind of battling is something we haven't seen before!" Misty commented, showing a smile of awe at how the system of Contest battles worked.

"Now, Beautifly, use String Shot!" Janet called. With this, Beautifly shot out a string of silk from its proboscis that aimed right at Torchic. "Oh, we'll see about that! Torchic, use Ember!" May replied. Torchic shot out small blasts of fire from her beak that not only broke through the silk, but also shot towards and hit Beautifly directly, causing Janet's points to go down quite a bit and leave May with the upper hand. "All right!" May cheered, while Torchic started to jump up and down in excitement.

"I have to admit, May, I didn't think you'd be able to do this well. But we'll show you what a Pokemon Coordinator can do! Beautifly, use Hidden Power!" Janet commented, showing a bright smile at how well May was doing given that this was her first Contest. With this, small energy blasts started to glow around Beautifly before they all combined into one, with Beautifly glowing white and releasing all the energy in several blasts going in different directions. Torchic nearly jumped from alarm at this and started to run out of the way as the energy blasts struck the ground she had been standing at, but as she was running, an energy blast struck the ground and sent her tripping over her feet and landing on the ground hard.

"How was Hidden Power able to hit like that?" Misty asked. "Janet's Beautifly must be able to control the path of its Hidden Power." Brock replied. Back on the battlefield, Torchic slowly got up on her feet and looked up to see another energy blast coming her way, to which she started to scream in alarm.

"Oh no, Torchic!" May cried, showing an expression of worry. But then an idea suddenly came to her and a confident smile crossed her face. "I know! Torchic, use Ember!" May called. With this, Torchic shot out small blasts of fire from her beak which hit the energy blast and kicked up a cloud of black smoke that covered the area she had been standing in. As Janet and Beautifly started to look around in surprise, wondering where Torchic could have gone, May saw her opportunity. "Now, Torchic, use Peck!" she called. As Beautifly was looking around for any sign of Torchic, she was met with the sight of Torchic charging through the smoke with her beak glowing white and before Beautifly could have a chance to react, Torchic slammed her beak into it directly and sent it flying backwards before it slammed into the nearby wall much to Janet's shock. This caused Janet's points to go down significantly, much to May's excitement. "Yes! I think we might be able to win, Torchic!" May cheered, looking down at her little Pokemon who started to jump up and down in joy.

While this was happening, Janet looked down at Beautifly struggling to get up and she quickly had an idea. "Beautifly, Morning Sun!" she said. After a few seconds, Beautifly started to glow white all over and slowly rose up into the air before spreading its wings out, allowing sunlight to shine all around the arena while May and the audience watched in amazement. "Wow... that's so beautiful..." May whispered, with a big smile of awe showing on her face. After a few seconds, the sunlight faded and Beautifly was back up in the air.

"Beautifly pulled off Morning Sun to perfection. This is truly beautiful; even the judges are astounded!" The announcer commented. The display of Morning Sun caused May's points to go down a little, though she still had a lot more than Janet by this point in the battle, and the timer had now gone down to just a minute left.

"Wow, Janet, that was a wonderful display. But I don't think the battle's over yet! Torchic, use Peck!" May said, showing a confident smile as she was still ready to go. With this, Torchic started to charge toward Beautifly with her beak glowing white.

"Oh, you're right about that. Beautifly, use Flash!" Janet replied. Beautifly's wings started to glow yellow brightly, and Torchic stopped running and turned her head away to avoid looking at the gleam Flash was giving off. "Now use String Shot!" Janet added. Beautifly's wings stopped glowing and then it shot out a string of silk which wrapped around Torchic's body and caused her to drop onto the ground, with May's points going down and leaving her and Janet at a tie with only thirty seconds left on the timer.

"No, Torchic!" May cried. An expression of worry then came to her face as she felt uncertain of what to do now. _'Oh, what am I going to do? Torchic's in a bind and I don't have any way to get myself back up. Is this really how my time in this Contest is going to end?' _May worriedly thought to herself. As she closed her eyes in despair, that was when a voice she didn't expect to hear reached her ears.

"Don't give up, May!" May's eyes suddenly snapped open hearing this and she turned her head to see Ash, standing up from his seat with an expression of determination on his face as he was watching the battle while Brock and Misty stared at him in surprise. "You've been able to get this far, so don't let all of your hard work go to waste! Never give up until it's over!" Ash yelled out. May stared in amazement hearing him say this, while a few members of the audience took notice as well and started to whisper amongst themselves.

"Hey, are you seeing this?"

"Yeah, I sure am."

"Do you think he could be her boyfriend?"

"Wait, her boyfriend?"

"Isn't that sweet seeing him supporting her?"

"That's a sure sign of a boyfriend if I ever saw one."

"Yeah; I think they make a great couple!"

"So do I! They just look so perfect together!"

Ash stared in surprise hearing the whisperings among the audience, but he simply showed a bright smile and turned his head back to May, not wanting to see everything she had done so far go to waste. May watched in silence as well before a bright smile crossed her face and she turned her attention back to the battle. She then looked over at the timer to see that it had gone down to twenty seconds; if there was any chance of her making a comeback, it had to be now.

"Let's go, Torchic. Use Peck to break through the silk!" May called. With this, Torchic jumped up on her feet and her beak started to glow white before she started to peck rapidly through the silk and turned her glance to Beautifly and started to charge towards it.

"Beautifly, use Hidden Power!" Janet said. With this, Beautifly started to charge up energy before releasing it, sending it in different directions as Torchic jumped out of the way to continue running, but then Torchic looked behind her and nearly jumped in alarm to see three energy blasts following her.

"Don't worry, Torchic! Just keep running; I have an idea!" May called. Torchic stared in alarm for a few seconds before nodding in understanding and turned her glance forward as she continued charging towards Beautifly. May turned her glance to the timer to see that there were now only ten seconds left and for her, that was all the time she needed. She then turned her glance back to see Torchic was now nearing Beautifly. "Now, Torchic! Jump!" May called. With this, Torchic jumped into the air and leapt over Beautifly's head before running out of the way. Beautifly turned around in puzzlement, wondering what was going on, and before it had a chance to react, the blasts of energy hit it from behind and sent it dropping onto the ground, knocked out. At the same time, the timer had run out and the screen showed that Janet's score bar was nearly empty while May's was still over half full.

"The winner of the preliminary final is May and her Torchic!" The announcer stated, to which the audience started to cheer while May was left staring in shock for a few moments before a bright smile came to her face and she jumped up and down in excitement.

"Yes, we did it!" May cheered. She then looked down to see Torchic run over and jump into her arms. "Great job, Torchic!" May happily said while Torchic snuggled up against her. Janet was left staring in silence for a few moments before she showed a bright smile and bent down to Beautifly, who slowly lifted up into the air and landed on her hand.

"Are you okay, Beautifly?" Janet asked with an expression of concern. Beautifly turned its head to Janet and nodded, prompting her to show a smile of relief. "Thank you for the battle; you were great." Janet said. She then looked over at May, who was still happily hugging Torchic, and walked over to May, which caused the brunette to turn her glance to her. "May, that was incredible. You and Torchic really put up a good battle." Janet commented. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, Janet. If I'm being honest, I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull all of that off. But... I guess it turned out better than I thought it would." May replied. She then turned her glance to Ash, who was watching her with a bright smile, thrilled to see that she was able to pull through and win the battle.

A little later, May was sitting in the dressing room by herself as she was waiting to hear the results of the second battle in the preliminary finals. As she was thinking about what Pokemon she should use depending on who she had to battle, she heard the door open and turned her glance to see Ash walking over to her. "Oh, Ash! I wasn't expecting you to come. What's up?" May asked, standing up from the chair she was sitting in. She watched as Ash walked over to her before he stopped and looked down to think before turning his glance up to her.

"I just wanted to say that... that was a really amazing battle out there. I really had no idea that you would be able to do so well." Ash commented, with Pikachu nodding in agreement.

May showed a bright smile at this comment and happily nodded. "Thanks, Ash. I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull through. But I still managed to win and now I'm going to the final round; I have to be honest, it's kind of hard for me to believe. And I wanted to say that... I want to thank you too." May explained. Ash showed an expression of surprise, wondering what she was talking about. "During the battle against Beautifly when I was in that bind and I didn't know how to get myself out of it. I was nearly ready to give up hope of winning, but then I heard you say to me..."

"_Never give up until it's over!"_

"As soon as I heard you say that, it was as if all of my doubts seemed to fade away and I knew what I needed to do to win. I'm not sure how it happened, but it was like hearing you tell me that was all the support I needed to win that battle. Thanks, Ash." May explained, showing a bright smile all the while. Ash had been listening intently to May while she was speaking, and then he showed a bright smile and started to rub the back of his head.

"Oh, it was nothing, May. I just didn't want to see you having worked hard to make sure you made it in and then get beaten when you're in the finals. I just wanted to see all of your training pay off and..." Before Ash could continue, he was caught off guard when May stepped forward and gave him a hug, which he turned his glance down to notice. He stared in silence for a few moments before a bright smile came to his face and he wrapped his arms around May. As the two just stood there together, they suddenly heard an announcement and turned their heads towards the screen to see the result: the final round battle would be May going up against Chaz.

"The final battle results have been set: it's May vs. Chaz! Which of the two will come out on top and win the Rustboro Ribbon?" The announcer asked over the speakers. Ash and May looked up at the screen for a few moments before they looked back at each other.

"Well, May, I guess that means you're up again. Do you know which Pokemon you want to use?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement and turned her glance down to her Pokeballs on her belt before placing a hand on Ralts's; she was going to use the same Pokemon that helped her make it through the Appeals Round in the first place.

Soon May was back on the stage ready to battle against Chaz. "And now without further delay, the Rustboro Contest has come to the exciting final battle stage! It's down to May and Chaz, who showed incredible skills in the preliminary rounds." The announcer stated, while May and Chaz stared at each other with determined expressions. While this was happening, Ash and the others watched from their seats with Janet sitting with them so she could watch.

"Look at that, guys. May's made it into the final round!" Ash commented. "And if she manages to win, she'll get her first Contest Ribbon. I would love to see that happen!" Misty cheerfully added. Brock nodded in agreement; May might have only been getting started, but her progress in this Contest was a sure sign of how strong she had gotten so far. Janet simply showed a bright smile as she watched from her seat, since she really wanted both May and Chaz to do their best in this battle.

Back on the stage, the screen revealed May and Chaz's pictures as well as two score bars underneath their pictures and a timer that had set to five minutes. "Now let the Contest battle begin!" The announcer stated, as the timer started to count down. With this, May and Chaz both grabbed out their Pokeballs containing the Pokemon they wanted to use.

"Go, Venomoth!" Chaz said, throwing out his Pokeball. "Let's go, Ralts!" May said, throwing her Pokeball in the air. Both Pokeballs opened and released the two in question, who landed in the arena before staring at each other ready to begin the battle.

"Venomoth, Stun Spore!" Chaz stated. "Let's go, Ralts! Use Disarming Voice!" May called. With this, Venomoth flapped its wings and kicked up a large cloud of orange dust, while Ralts emanated bright purple hearts from her mouth which cleared the dust away so it wouldn't hit her. This caused both May and Chaz's points to go down a little.

"It looks like both May and Chaz lost points." Ash commented. "That's because Venomoth's Stun Spore worked at first, but it was blown away by Ralts's Disarming Voice." Brock explained. Ash showed an expression of fascination as he remembered what he heard earlier; Contest battles weren't just about the attacks, but also how the Pokemon defended themselves during the battle.

"Venomoth, use Psybeam!" Chaz called. Venomoth's eyes started to glow purple and blue colours before it shot out two blasts of psychic energy that aimed towards Ralts. As Ralts watched in worry, May was quick to come up with an idea to counter this.

"Ralts, use Teleport!" May said. With this, Ralts suddenly disappeared from the arena while the blasts of energy struck the ground she had been standing at. As Venomoth looked around in bewilderment, wondering where Ralts could have gone, it didn't notice Ralts suddenly appear from behind it. "Great, now use Confusion!" May added, showing a bright smile. Venomoth turned around to see Ralts standing behind it and before it had a chance to react, Ralts sent out light purple psychic waves that hit it directly and sent it dropping out of the air, causing Chaz's points to go down by a good amount. "All right!" May cheered, while Ralts showed a bright smile at her success. However, it seemed Venomoth wasn't done just yet because it slowly lifted up into the air flapping its wings, ready for more.

"Venomoth, use Confusion!" Chaz stated. Venomoth's eyes started to glow light blue as a blue psychic outline surrounded Ralts and as she looked around in alarm wondering what was going on, she found herself being lifted up into the air towards Venomoth. "Now use Psybeam!" Chaz added, showing a bright smile at the fact that he was making a comeback. Once Venomoth had Ralts in front of it, it shot out two blasts of psychic energy from its eyes towards her, which hit her directly and sent her dropping onto the ground, which caused May's points to go down and place her and Chaz on even ground. May stared in alarm before she looked down at Ralts as she slowly got back up on her feet.

"Are you okay, Ralts?" she asked showing an expression of concern. Ralts slowly shook her head before turning her head to May and nodded with a small smile. May showed a smile of relief at this reply before she looked up at Chaz and Venomoth. "You two are really tough, but I'm just getting started!" May stated, showing an expression of determination as she was ready to win this battle.

"Well, we'll see about that! Venomoth, use Psybeam!" Chaz replied, as he wanted to win this battle as much as May did. With this, Venomoth's eyes started to glow different colours before it shot out two blasts of psychic energy that aimed towards Ralts. As Ralts stood in worry, May had an idea to try and counter this.

"Ralts, try using the Confusion control you showed in your performance!" May called. With this, Ralts glared with an expression of determination before the blasts of energy stopped in their tracks as she held them still. As Ralts focused, she turned the blasts of energy around in their direction so they aimed towards Venomoth instead, with both of them hitting Venomoth directly and sending Chaz's points going down again. "Great job, Ralts! Now use Teleport!" May cheered, showing a bright smile as she was turning the odds in her favour. As Venomoth shot out another two blasts of psychic energy, Ralts disappeared from the area she had been standing in which left the energy blasts to strike the ground instead. Venomoth showed an expression of alarm and started turning its head back and forth, wondering where Ralts could have gone seemingly unaware that she had teleported to a far end of the arena.

From their seats, Ash, Brock and Misty watched in puzzlement. "What do you think May could be doing?" Ash asked. "I'm not sure, but she's really using Ralts's move set to her advantage!" Misty replied with a smile of awe crossing her face as she had been watching how well May was doing in this battle. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as well, Misty." Brock agreed, nodding in agreement with Misty. Ash simply watched the battle in surprise, as he was wondering what idea May had planned, before he looked up to see that the timer had only a minute left; they had been so focused on the battle so they didn't notice how fast the time had gone by.

Back on the arena, Venomoth turned around to see Ralts at the far end of the arena and shot out two blasts of psychic energy from its eyes towards her, but Ralts simply disappeared from that spot, leaving the energy blasts to strike the ground instead. "Now, Ralts, use Double Team!" May called. With this, Ralts appeared in front of Venomoth before splitting herself into multiple copies that surrounded Venomoth in a circle, leaving the latter Pokemon to look around in alarm as it couldn't tell which Ralts was the real one. "Now use Confusion!" May called. With this, Ralts and the several copies all released small light purple psychic waves that hit Venomoth directly and sent it dropping onto the ground, knocked out before the copies all disappeared, leaving only Ralts standing in front of Venomoth. Almost at that moment, the timer ran out and it was visible that May had only lost less than a quarter of her points while Chaz's points bar was nearly empty.

"The battle is over! And the victory goes to May and her Ralts!" The announcer stated. The audience started to cheer loudly while May stared in amazement for a few seconds before a bright smile slowly crossed her face as she realised what had happened: she had won her first Pokemon Contest. "Yes! I did it! I won!" May cheered. She then looked down at Ralts, who ran over and jumped into her arms. "Ralts, thank you so much!" May happily stated. Ralts showed a bright smile as she was just as thrilled as May that they had won. From their seats, Ash, Misty and Brock were all clapping as well.

"Did you guys see that? May won!" Ash exclaimed. "(Yeah; that was amazing!)" Pikachu cheered, raising both of his paws in the air in excitement with a big smile on his face.

"I know! I had no idea she'd be able to pull it off." Misty agreed, while Togepi let out a cheerfull chirp as she was sitting on Misty's lap. May simply stood on the stage with a big smile and tears of happiness building in her eyes, hearing everyone cheering for her; she may have only been starting off in Pokemon Contests, but right now, she felt like she was on top of the world. She and Ralts looked at each other with matching big smiles before they hugged in celebration.

Sometime later, May stood on the stage with Mr. Contesta showing her the Rustboro Ribbon, which she happily accepted with Ash and the others standing beside her, as well as Janet and Chaz. "Congratulations, May. You were amazing out there." Chaz said.

"I think you'll make a great Pokemon Coordinator." Janet added. May turned her head to them with an expression of surprise before she felt a nervous smile cross her face and she turned her glance down. "Really? Oh, well... I don't really know about that." May nervously replied; she still hadn't really decided on what she should do on her journey.

"Yeah, I think so too. After all, you really stole the show when you were up on the stage. I think that would really be something great for you to do." Ash commented, with Pikachu nodding in agreement. May looked up at him with a bright smile slowly crossing her face and she nodded in agreement; she was going to start taking this into consideration. "Good luck with your Gym Battle, Ash. I hope it goes well." Chaz said. Ash showed a bright smile and nodded.

"Thanks, Chaz. I think Pikachu and I will be training quite a bit to make sure we perfect Iron Tail before the battle. Isn't that right, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning his glance to his partner Pokemon. "(Yep, that's right!)" Pikachu replied, nodding in agreement.

The others couldn't help themselves smiling in amusement at Ash; it was safe to say that he would be busy at work training before they arrived in Rustboro City. May then looked down at her Contest Ribbon to have a few more moments to let the fact that she won it sink in before she looked up with a bright smile and held it up above her head. "All right! I won my first Contest Ribbon!" May cheered, with Ralts jumping up into the air beside her with a big smile.

It was very safe to say that the Rustboro Contest had been something eventful for everyone; May had managed to win a Ribbon without even realising how well she could well, while Ash had decided to work on helping Pikachu learn a new move for the Gym Battle. Now all that was left for the group was to continue their trek to Rustboro City, and find out what awaited them in the city.


	14. Teachers for A Day

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 14: Teachers for A Day**

Pikachu glared at his opponent with an expression of determination on his face, as he was feeling ready to battle. As he stared fearlessly, Riolu was staring at him with the same determined expression from the other side of the field while Ash was watching the two; he was having the two battle against each other so they could perfect having Pikachu learn Iron Tail. "All right, are you ready, Riolu?" Ash asked. Riolu nodded in agreement, as he was feeling prepared to battle. "Then let's go!" Ash replied. With this, Riolu charged up a bright blue sphere of energy between his paws before firing towards Pikachu, to which Pikachu turned around and as the energy sphere drew close to him, he slammed it away with his tail causing it to start to glow white. Pikachu and Riolu both stared in awe seeing this while Ash showed a bright smile seeing that his training was working out for him. "All right! Now, Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash called. Pikachu turned his head to Riolu and started to charge towards him before he was close and he was ready to strike Riolu with his new attack... before the glowing on his tail faded away leaving him to land on the attack and stare with an expression of surprise. Ash watched this for a few seconds before he let out a sigh of dismay. "I guess we still need to work on it a bit more..." Ash commented.

Ash, May, Brock and Misty were continuing their trek towards Rustboro City; the four had decided to keep moving after the Rustboro Contest, and Ash was busy at work trying to help Pikachu perfect Iron Tail for the Gym Battle. From the looks of the way the training was coming along, it seemed that Ash hadn't managed to get it just yet, though he had a strong feeling he and Pikachu would be able to pull it off like they always did.

While this was happening, May, Misty and Brock were sitting at a little resting site they had set up to have a break from all the walking they had been doing and were helping themselves to some sandwiches Brock had prepared for them, while their Pokemon were enjoying bowls of Pokemon food. "Mmmm! Brock, your meals never stop amazing me. I feel really glad you're travelling along with us." May happily commented, showing a bright smile.

"Thanks a lot, May." Brock replied. As May took another bite out of her sandwich, she and the others turned their heads to see Ash busy training with Pikachu. "Hey, Ash! Are you going to come join us for lunch? There's plenty for everyone." Brock called. Ash turned his head to see the others enjoying their lunch and nodded before he walked over to join them while Pikachu and Riolu followed behind him, and the three sat down to start eating as well. "So how's the training with Pikachu's Iron Tail coming along?" Brock asked while Ash grabbed one of the sandwiches that were sitting in the plate set up for him to start eating. Ash took a bite out of his sandwich before turning his head up to the others while Pikachu and Riolu were munching on their Pokemon food.

"It's still a little shaky, but we're getting there. I'm hoping for us to get the move right before we get to Rustboro City. And considering how much we've been training along the way, I'm sure we'll be able to get it! Right, Pikachu?" Ash replied, showing a confident smile as he turned his glance down to his partner Pokemon. Pikachu turned his head towards Ash and nodded in agreement with a big smile. "(That's right, Ash!)" Pikachu agreed; while he hadn't been able to get Iron Tail down yet, he was certain that he would succeed in learning before they arrived in Rustboro City. The others turned their heads to each other with matching expressions of surprise, seeing just how focused Ash was on getting ready for the Gym Battle. After a few seconds, they all turned their glances back to Ash.

"Ash, I know you're trying to make sure you're ready for the Gym Battle and that's great and all, but... don't you think that maybe you could try to relax a little bit? I mean, there is more to do on a Pokemon journey besides just battling." Misty nervously explained, while the others nodded in agreement, though May didn't say anything as she was looking forward to supporting Ash.

"Misty is right about that. You don't need to spend this whole time training, you know." Brock agreed. Ash stared at the others in surprise for a few seconds before he slowly showed a big smile and stood up while the others watched in silence. "I know how to enjoy myself, you guys. I'm just going to do that after the Gym Battle. That seems like a fair deal, doesn't it?" he asked. Brock and Misty could only stare with expressions of puzzlement while May showed a smile of amusement and couldn't help herself giggling at the way Ash was able to express his thoughts on the issue of him being so busy with training for the Gym Battle.

"Uh... I guess that sounds fair." Misty commented as she slowly started to nod in understanding at what Ash was trying to say. While this conversation was taking place, May had finished munching on her sandwich and let out a content sigh as she looked at the others. "That was a great lunch! I think I'm ready to get going if you guys are." May commented. Brock seemed to agree with her on this as he stood up, picking his bag up and placing it back around his shoulders before turning his head to the others.

"That sounds like a good plan to me. It will probably be a little while before we get to Rustboro City, so we should get moving." Brock said. Ash and Misty turned their heads to him and nodded in agreement, so they and May grabbed the bags they were carrying with and the group started to walk down the route they were taking to try and find their way to the city; they were hoping to at least get there today, even though they had no idea of how far they still had to go until their destination would be in clear sight.

Some time had passed and the four were continuing their way down the path to see if they could get to Rustboro City. As they were walking, May was looking at the Contest Ribbon she won at the Rustboro Contest; she still found it hard to believe that she actually managed to win it by herself, in the first Pokemon Contest that she had competed in, no less. "Wow... I actually won my first Ribbon. Looking at it, it feels almost too good to be true; this is like something that would only happen in a dream!" May commented with a bright smile on her face as she was holding her Ribbon up towards the sky, causing the gold centre to shine underneath the sunlight. The others turned their glances to May and they couldn't help themselves smiling as they were noticing her excitement.

"Well, May, it looks to me like that dream became a reality." Brock commented. "Yeah, it sure did! I think you'd do great entering in Pokemon Contests; after all, you managed to blow everyone away back there with your performance." Misty agreed, while Togepi let out a happy chirp in her arms with a big smile. May showed an expression of surprise hearing Misty say this, and then she couldn't help herself showing a shy smile at this comment; she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do on her journey yet, but it looked like she had at least one option being presented in front of her. As Ash was listening to this, he turned his head back to the road ahead and then he suddenly stopped in his tracks with a bright smile slowly showing on his face, while the others turned their heads to him in surprise wondering what was wrong.

"Hey, Ash, what's up?" Brock asked. "Why are we stopping?" May added. They didn't receive any response for a few seconds as Ash simply stared in silence for a few moments before he turned his glance to the two so they saw the big smile showing on his face.

"Guys, look! I think that's Rustboro City!" Ash happily replied. "(Yeah; I think we're here!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a smile that was matching Ash's. The others showed matching expressions of surprise at this, and then they slowly turned their glances upwards to see that just up ahead, there was a large array of buildings covering the surrounding area, with a visible view of the large span of the ocean around the coast. All around the streets, there were people walking up and down and looking around at the various shops they could find in the city. As the group slowly walked over to have a better look around, they all showed smiles of awe seeing the sights of the city around them and they had a feeling they could tell exactly where they were. Brock had a look down at the guidebook he was carrying to check the map, and then he turned his head up to the group.

"Yeah, it looks like this is the place, all right. We've arrived in Rustboro City!" Brock stated. May and Misty both showed big smiles of excitement at this and the two quickly raised a fist up into the air. "Yeah, we made it!" May cheered. "Finally we're here!" Misty added, with Togepi raising both her little hands up in the air and cheering along with them. Ash slowly showed a smile of excitement upon hearing that they had finally arrived in Rustboro City, because he knew exactly what that meant. Without a moment of hesitance on his part, Ash pumped a fist up into the air while Pikachu quickly followed suit behind him.

"All right! Rustboro City Gym, here I come!" Ash cheered. "(Yeah, let's go!)" Pikachu added. Ash was about to run off ahead to look for the Gym, but he was stopped dead in his tracks by May who grabbed hold of the back of his bag leaving him to start running in place instead without him noticing.

"Come on, Ash, what's the hurry? The Gym battle isn't going anywhere, you know." May teased, showing a cheeky smile while Brock and Misty simply watched this in silence. After a few seconds, Ash took notice of the fact that he wasn't getting anywhere and stopped running in place before he turned around to face the others, wondering what kind of idea they had planned now that they were here. "We've got plenty of time on our hands, so why don't we do a bit of sightseeing?" May suggested. Ash could only show an expression of surprise at this idea, but before he could get a chance to have a say in the matter, he was interrupted by Brock and Misty as they both showing bright smiles; they were quick to agree with May.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" Misty happily commented. "Well, there is a lot to do while we're here, so I guess there's nothing wrong with having a look to see what there is." Brock agreed. They then turned their heads to Ash to hear what he had to say about it. Ash stared blankly for a few moments before he remembered what Misty said earlier about him needing to relax from training, and then he looked down and let out a sigh of dismay as he realised that she was right; he was focusing a bit too much on getting ready for the Gym Battle, so having a look around the city seemed like it would give him a good chance to relax before he could resume with his training. So after a few seconds to think it over, he lifted his head up to the others and showed a bright smile before nodding in agreement with them.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me too. I guess I could use a bit of time to relax from all the training I've done on the way here." Ash commented, while Pikachu looked at him as he was talking, before turning his head to the group and nodded in agreement with a bright smile on his face. This seemed to fare well with the others as they all showed smiles of delight hearing that Ash was willing to come along with them as well.

"Yay, that's great to hear! Thanks, Ash!" May happily commented. Ash couldn't help feeling his smile grow brighter seeing how happy May was; he was actually looking forward to spending some time walking around the city with her. With this, the group started to make their way down the street to have a look around Rustboro City. As they were walking, May showed a smile of awe as she noticed the bustling streets around them. "Wow... this is so amazing. I don't think I've seen a city as big as this." May said. As Misty was looking around, she turned her glance up to notice what seemed to a large tower-shaped building pointing up to the sky.

"Guys, look at this!" Misty called, pointing up to the building that she spotted. The others came over to have a look with her and noticed that the height of the building gave it the appearance of nearly touching the sky. "Let's go see what we can find in there!" Misty suggested with a bright smile coming to her face. There was no sign of hesitance from the others' part as they all nodded in agreement, so they started to make their way over to the tower.

At the top floor of the tower, there were several stalls and shops that could be seen around the floor as well as pairs of binoculars scattered around so the shoppers visiting could have take a look at the view of the city. As Ash and the others were having a look around at the top floor, they turned their glances to notice the view from outside and May quickly ran over to have a closer look. "The view up here is amazing!" May happily exclaimed, pressing her hands against the glass window while Brock and Misty walked over to have a look with her and Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and rushed over so he could have a look with them. As Ash was watching the others, one particular shop nearby caught his attention and he walked over to have a look inside while the others weren't paying attention to the fact that he wasn't with them; they were busy enjoying the view of Rustboro City. "Look at that... Have you ever seen such a wonderful view?" May asked, turning her head to Brock and Misty as they were standing on either side of her. Brock had a look down at the map of Rustboro City to see where they were before he turned his head back up to look at the view and pointed just ahead.

"Rustboro Gym should be right over here." Brock commented. Misty showed a bright smile as she watched the view, before an expression of puzzlement came to her face as she felt like someone wasn't with them anymore. "Hey, have you guys seen where Ash went? I could have been sure he was just behind us..." Misty said. May and Brock both turned to her in surprise before they noticed that sure enough, Ash wasn't standing behind them. As they started to look around wondering where he could have gone off to, they suddenly heard someone call for them from behind.

"Hey, guys, look at this!" May, Brock and Misty all turned around to see who was behind them and they nearly jumped from alarm as they were met with the sight of Ash wearing a ridiculously over the top tourist get-up; he was wearing a white t-shirt that had a picture of the Rustboro City buildings printed on the front, a light green jacket that had dark green sleeves and several badges pinned all around it, a pair of light green palm tree sunglasses, a pair of gold tower earrings, two tattoos on his cheek with one being a palm tree and the other being a picture of the tower they were in and a white cap that was in the shape of the tower's roof and he was carrying a small flag in his hand that had the design of the tower printed on the flag. "What do you guys think? Are the sunglasses a bit much?" Ash asked, showing a bright smile as he seemed to like his get-up, while the others could only stare at him in dumbfounded silence as they were trying to figure out how to express their feelings on it.

"Well... let's see..." Brock nervously replied. "(Ash...)" Pikachu sighed, showing an expression of dismay as he lowered his head into his paws and started to slowly shake it as he started to wonder what he was going to do about Ash; he really liked Ash and all, but sometimes he knew just how to make a fool out of himself.

"Uh... Ash? I don't think that's the only problem." May stated, though she had to admit that while she wasn't saying it out loud, she thought Ash's get-up actually looked quite amusing to her, and the fact that he didn't seem all that fazed by the odd stares he was getting from the on-lookers around them didn't really help the matter in the slightest. "Oh, I can't look..." Misty groaned, slowly turning her glance away as she didn't want to see Ash in that ridiculous outfit. However, Ash didn't seem to notice that there was a problem with his outfit because he simply let out a cheerful laugh.

A little later, the group were walking through the shops; Ash was being left behind as he was trying to keep up with the others. "Come on, you guys! It was a joke!" Ash called. The others didn't seem to pay him any notice, with the exception of May as she had her mouth covered with both her hands and she was trying not to giggle as she was thinking about how amusing Ash looked in his get-up before Brock and Misty made him take it off because everyone else that was nearby was staring at them.

"So why aren't we laughing?" Misty asked in response, showing an expression of dismay as she was still remembering what she had the misfortune of seeing just a few minutes earlier. "I've never been so embarrassed..." Brock muttered, as he couldn't believe just how many people were shooting stares in their direction; for him, it felt like the most embarrassing thing in the world for him outside of the times that he made a fool out of himself, though that was usually at his own expense instead of others around them.

As Pikachu was walking by himself, he noticed something hiding underneath one of the chairs beside the wall and an expression of surprise came to his face before he turned to the group. "(Guys, look at this!)" Pikachu called. Ash and the group walked over to see what Pikachu had found and noticed a small dark blue spherical Pokemon with large eyes and pink lips, along with a black and white swirl on its abdomen and a long, mostly transparent tail. "It's a Poliwag!" Ash commented. Poliwag was looking around with an expression of worry and when it looked up to see Ash and the others walking over to where it was hiding, it slowly turned its head. Misty seemed to take notice of this, as she placed Togepi on the floor beside her and then bent down to look Poliwag hiding under the chair.

"Hi there, little guy. What are you doing under there?" Misty asked. Poliwag turned to see Misty looking at it and it nearly jumped from alarm before it quickly looked away, shaking in fear. Misty showed an expression of surprise at this before she showed a gentle smile. "It's alright; you don't need to be scared. If there's something wrong, we can help you." Misty gently explained. Poliwag slowly turned around to face Misty hearing say this and looked its glance up to see the gentle smile she was showing it. After a few seconds, Poliwag slowly walked out from underneath the chair and Misty picked it up before standing up to hold the little Pokemon in her arms. Ash and Brock both watched this with bright smiles, while May could only stare in awe seeing how Misty calmed Poliwag down so easily. As Misty was holding Poliwag in her arms, she noticed that that was a white band around its tail that had a red Pokemon symbol on it. "What do you guys think this could be?" she asked, turning her head to the others as they looked down to notice the band as well.

"It looks like Poliwag might already have a Trainer." Brock replied. Misty then showed a bright smile as she knew exactly what they were going to do. "Poliwag, if you remember what your Trainer looks like, we'll help you look for them. I'm sure they couldn't be too far. In fact, I have a feeling they're looking for you right now." Misty commented, while Togepi was happily chirping in agreement. Almost as if on cue, the group suddenly heard someone calling.

"Poliwag!" The group looked up to see a young woman walking over to them and she had a smile of relief on her face once she noticed Poliwag in Misty's arms. She looked like she was about twenty years old and she had dark pink coloured eyes and long dark brown hair that was tied up in two ponytails with two dark pink bows behind her head and she was a long sleeved dark blue dress-like top that had a light pink tie at the front, along with long light pink leggings and dark blue sandal-like shoes. Poliwag showed a bright smile seeing her and jumped into her arms while the group watched in surprise. "I've been looking all over for you." The young woman commented. She then turned her glance up to Misty while she was watching on. "Did you find Poliwag?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Misty replied, nodding in confirmation as she bent down to pick Togepi up. The young woman then showed a bright smile as she replied "I can't thank you enough for that." As May was watching, she turned her glance to the young woman with an expression of surprise on her face. _'Something about her looks... familiar. But what is it exactly?' _May asked herself with an expression of puzzlement coming to her face and she started to scratch her head as she was wondering where she had seen this young woman before.

"Miss Roxanne!" Hearing that voice, the young woman turned around to see four children who all looked like they were eight years old and they had been following behind her, and there were two boys and two girls in the small group. The boy who was talking to her had black eyes and light brown hair that was standing up on one side, and he was wearing a dark purple zipped up top with matching pants that had a yellow stripe along the side along with light green sneakers and he had a Magby that had a white band on its right arm walking beside him. The girl standing to his left was carrying a Rattata that had a white hand on its right arm in her arms and she had dark green eyes and dark brown hair that was tied up in two ponytails behind her head and she was wearing a long sleeved light yellow and red coloured dress with a light pink layer on the bottom half along with long white socks and light pink sneakers. The girl standing on the boy's right was carrying a Pidgey that had a white band around its neck in her arms and she had light blue eyes and short dark red hair that hung down freely, and she was wearing a long sleeved bright pink and light green coloured dress along with short white socks and bright orange sneakers. And last but not least, the boy standing behind the others had black eyes and short dark blue hair and he was wearing a dark blue top with a bright yellow t-shirt on top along with bright green shorts, short white socks and dark red sneakers: their names were Tommy, Lily, Anita and Kenny respectively. "You found Poliwag! All right!" Tommy commented.

"That's so great!" Anita happily said. While this was happening, May turned her glance up to Roxanne with an expression of surprise coming to her face.

'_Roxanne? Where have I heard that name before?'_ May asked to herself. As she looked up to think about it for a few moments, that was when a memory suddenly came to her. _'Of course! I saw her before when I was at Trainer's School!' _ May thought; she could remember when she first saw Roxanne...

_It was a usual day at the Trainer's School for eight year old May; she was in one of her morning classes and she was learning about the basics of Pokemon battling. While everyone was paying close attention and taking notes, May couldn't be less involved if she tried, as she didn't seem to be listening to the class at all. While she was sitting impatiently in her chair and wondering when snack time was going to come, the door of the classroom opened and the class turned their heads to see the principal of the Trainer's School come in with a fifteen year old girl and her parents to see what was going on. "And here we have the Trainer's class; this is where aspiring Pokemon learn about important essentials of what it means to be a Pokemon Trainer, such as battling, how to take care of their Pokemon and what to do in case something goes wrong." The principal explained. The young girl, Roxanne, had a look around the classroom with a bright smile showing on her face while her parents watched._

"_So what do you think, Roxy?" Roxanne's mum asked. Roxanne turned her head to her parents and showed a bright smile. "I like it! Is it okay if we could see what other classes there are here?" she asked. Both of her parents seemed to agree with her as they both nodded before the three made their way out of their classroom. Once they were gone, the other students resumed with their note-taking, but May had her attention laid on Roxanne, and she had an expression of surprise on her face as she hadn't seen her around the school before._

_Soon snack time rolled around, which was something the students couldn't be happier about. As May was walking through the playground, she figured that maybe she could find the girl she saw earlier. As she turned her head forward, a bright smile crossed her face when she noticed someone looking around the area: it was Roxanne. "There she is!" May happily commented. Without a moment to spare, May started to run over to her. "Hello! Excuse me?" May called. Roxanne turned around with an expression of surprise on her face and then she showed a surprised smile when she saw May running over to her as she stopped to catch her breath._

"_Oh, hi there! Weren't you in the Trainer's Class I visited?" Roxanne asked. After taking a few seconds to catch her breath, May turned her head up to Roxanne and nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's right. We were learning about the basics of Pokemon battling and how to counter Type weaknesses during a battle." May replied. Roxanne showed a smile of fascination hearing this while May stood up properly once she was sure that she was alright now. "Anyway, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. My name's May." May said._

"_It's nice to meet you, May. I'm Roxanne. I'm having a look around the school with my parents and seeing what kind of classes there are running. It sounds like you have a lot going on!" Roxanne replied, showing a bright smile while May nodded in agreement. "Yeah; this school is big, so I guess that isn't too much of a surprise. I'm just glad I don't get lost trying to find the right classroom when I'm trying to find my way to my classes." May commented. Roxanne then let out a cheerful laugh hearing this while May stared in surprise before she started to laugh along with her. After a few seconds, the two girls calmed down and turned their glances back to each other. "So, uh... Roxanne, do you think we could be friends?" May asked, showing a shy smile as she turned her glance down to the ground._

_Roxanne showed a bright smile at this question and nodded. "Of course! I would be happy to be friends with you, May." she replied. May turned her glance up with an expression of surprise at this reply before a bright smile immediately crossed her face. "Really? That's great!" May happily commented. The two then started to walk through the playground side by side as they were looking forward to spending the day together for as long as Roxanne was here._

_During lunch time, the two sat together on one of the benches. "So, Roxanne, what are you planning to do when you grow up?" May asked as the two looked at each other. Roxanne turned her glance up to think for a few moments before she looked back at May._

"_I think I'd like to become a teacher." Roxanne replied. May showed an expression of surprise at this reply and then Roxanne turned her head to look at the students happily around the playground as she figured that maybe she should explain why she wanted to do that. "While I've been on my tour throughout the school, I noticed that there are many different ways to learn about taking care of Pokemon and becoming friends with them, whether it be through battles or other different methods like being a Pokemon Doctor. And there is one particular class that caught my attention: the Beginner's Class. Seeing that there are so many young students that aspire to become Pokemon Trainers is something that makes me feel very happy, and I want to able to use what I learn to help those young students prepare for the day they head out into the world on their Pokemon journey. I want to help them with learning the things that matter the most, and help them learn about how to connect with their Pokemon as partners and friends, so that no matter what obstacle comes their way, they'll be able to work together and overcome those odds!" Roxanne explained, showing a bright smile while she was talking._

_May slowly showed a smile of awe while she was listening to this and she nodded in agreement. "Wow... that sounds like a great goal to have. If it's something that you want to do, Roxanne, then you should do your best to make sure you make that goal come true!" May said. Roxanne turned her glance to May and showed a bright smile at this._

"_Thanks, May. I'll do just that!" Roxanne replied, showing an expression of determination as she knew what she wanted to do. The two then brightly smiled at each other, knowing that whatever goal they had in mind, they would make it become a reality... _

As soon as May remembered this, her eyes went wide in awe as she turned her glance to Roxanne; it was hard to believe that she still remembered her despite having not seen her for five years. While this was happening, Anita turned her head to Kenny with a bright smile. "See? Everything's okay." Anita commented. As Kenny slowly turned his glance up to her, Tommy then walked over with an expression of annoyance on his face.

"Except our class trip is ruined, and poor Poliwag is scared completely out of its mind!" Tommy snapped. "I'm sorry..." Kenny quietly replied, turning his glance down with an expression of sadness showing on his face. This didn't seem to sit well with Anita because she started to glare at Tommy in anger hearing him talk to Kenny like that.

"Do you have to be so mean? You know Kenny's afraid of touching Pokemon, so leave him alone!" Anita snapped. "What do you care?" Tommy retorted, turning his head to her. The two stared to glare at each other for a few moments before Roxanne looked down at the two with a firm expression on her face.

"All right, that's enough, you two." Roxanne firmly stated. Anita and Tommy both glared at each other for a few seconds before they turned their glances away from each other and replied "Fine!" in unison. Once that was taken care of, Roxanne turned her glance to Kenny and showed a comforting smile. "Now, Kenny, I hope you've learnt something important from all of this." Roxanne said.

"Yes..." Kenny quietly replied. Roxanne could only show a comforting smile seeing how upset Kenny was and placed a hand on his head. "There's no need to be afraid, and don't be upset either because you tried your hardest." Roxanne explained. As Ash and the others were watching this, May turned her glance down to Kenny seeing him looking down at this and she started to look down to think, seeing just how similar he was to her when she was only little. "Okay, everyone, it's time to head back to the Trainer's School." Roxanne then stated, turning her glance to the rest of the class. As the class nodded in agreement, that was when May decided that now was a good time for her to speak up.

"Roxanne?" she asked. Roxanne showed an expression of surprise hearing May from behind her, and then she turned around to see the brunette walking over to her. "Yes? Can I help you?" she asked in response. May showed a bright smile at this comment and then she pointed to herself as she figured that Roxanne probably couldn't recognize her and it would be best to refresh her memory.

"It's May, remember? We met while I was still at Trainer's School and you came to visit." May explained. Roxanne showed an expression of surprise as she started to wonder what May was talking about, but as she had a closer look at May, she started to recognize her; the bright blue eyes, the dark brown hair that hung down freely beside her head and the cheerful smile on her face. As Roxanne looked closely at her, she could see the young girl she met when she visited the Trainer's School in the thirteen year old that stood in front of her showing that very same smile. Once all of this came to Roxanne, a bright smile showed on her face.

"May? Is that you?" Roxanne asked. May cheerfully nodded in agreement; though she had grown up quite a bit since they last met, it was safe to say that it was still her. Once she was sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, Roxanne's smile grew brighter at the sight of her friend standing here in front of her. "May! I don't believe it! I almost didn't recognize you; it really looks like you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you. How have you been?" Roxanne happily asked. May nearly felt like she would jump in delight from seeing that Roxanne still remembered her since they last saw each other.

"I've been great! I'm starting on my Pokemon journey and it's been going better than I ever imagined it would." May replied. "Well, that's great to hear! You'll need to tell me about everything you've been doing when we arrive back at the Trainer's School." Roxanne commented. May nodded in agreement with that idea while Ash, Brock, Misty and the four students watched this conversation with expressions of surprise on their faces. Anita then stepped forward to be the one to ask about this.

"Miss Roxanne, do you and this girl know each other?" she asked. Roxanne turned her head down to Anita and nodded in confirmation. "Yes, that's right. May and I met when she was a student at the Trainer's School at your age." Roxanne replied. The small class started to show bright smiles upon hearing this, with the exception of Kenny as he was still looking down in sadness. While this was happening, Ash stepped forward while May turned her head to him in surprise.

"Well, it's been great catching up, but we still have a Gym Battle coming up." Ash commented. Roxanne turned her head to Ash hearing this and then she showed a bright smile.

"Are you here for a battle at the Rustboro Gym?" she asked. Ash nodded in agreement before turning his glance to May as if to say that she was going to battle as well. May noticed his glance and nearly jumped as she realised what he was trying to say before she showed a nervous smile and rapidly nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess that works out just perfectly; the Rustboro Gym is just right next door to the Trainer's School, so why don't you all stop by for a visit before you head off for your Gym Battle?" Roxanne suggested. The group seemed to agree with this idea, except for Ash, because they all showed bright smiles and nodded.

"Yeah, we will! It will feel great to revisit old memories!" May exclaimed. "That sounds like a great idea." Misty commented. "Will you give us the tour, Roxanne?" Brock asked, as he felt his cheeks start to turn red. Ash simply stared in silence before he turned to the others with an expression of concern.

"But... I really want to get to my Gym Battle." Ash commented. May turned her glance to Ash and then turned around to face him with a bright smile on her face. "Hey, what's the hurry, Ash? It's not a good thing to rush into a battle. Isn't that what you've been telling me?" May asked. Ash simply showed an expression of surprise before nodding agreement. While May was talking, she didn't notice that Tommy was watching her with a glare.

A little later, Ash and the others were being led to the different classes in the Trainer's School by the headmaster. "So I hear that your mum and dad run the Petalburg Gym, is that right, May?" The headmaster asked as he was enjoying a conversation with May as she was telling him about how she came to the school when she was little. May nodded in agreement with a big smile, while Ash could only show an expression of concern watching all of this.

"Uh, excuse me? I kind of need to get to the Gym as soon as possible." Ash stated. The others turned their heads to Ash with expressions of surprise before Brock showed a bright smile. "Ash, there's no need to hurry. We have plenty of time on our hands, so why don't we have a look around the school and see what kind of classes they run?" Brock asked. May turned her head to him and nodded in agreement; that sounded like a good idea to her.

"I know that, but..." Before Ash could get a chance to continue, he noticed that the others were following the headmaster to a door leading into one of the classrooms, so he quickly followed after them and looked inside the classroom as the door was opened to show a room with various students sitting in rows and seats and taking notes as Nurse Joy and another doctor stood at the front desk and were showing them two diagrams of an Oddish and a Marill they had drawn on the whiteboard. "This classroom has students training to become Pokemon Doctors." The headmaster explained.

"Pokemon Doctors, huh?" Brock asked, showing a smile of fascination as the group watched the class taking place. After a few minutes, the group were shown into a classroom with various students doing different stretching exercises on practice mats with their Pokemon. "This is a specialized class training for Pokemon Contests." The headmaster explained.

As soon as May saw the class, her eyes went wide in excitement and she clasped her hands together with a big smile on her face. "This class is for me!" she happily exclaimed. As she looked around, she noticed one student throw a Pokeball out which opened and released a Sneasel who twirled in the air in different formations before landing on the mat and posing with one arm up like its trainer. "Where can I sign up?" May excitedly asked.

In another room, there was a battle taking place. "Typhlosion, use Flamethrower, go!" One of the two trainers called. With this, Typhlosion shot out a strong blast of fire from its mouth aiming towards its opponent. "Feraligatr, Hydro Pump!" The other trainer replied. Feraligatr shot out a strong blast of water from its mouth that ploughed the blast of fire effortlessly, and the two Pokemon charged at each other before they started to wrestle against one another. As Ash and the others watched this from a balcony above the area, Ash showed a bright smile of awe seeing the battle.

"Wow, this is so cool!" Ash exclaimed. "(Yeah, it is!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a big smile. "This class specializes in Pokemon battling." The headmaster explained. As May watched the battle, she turned her glance to the headmaster as she wanted to ask something.

"Excuse me? Is it alright if we visit Roxanne's Beginner's Class?" she asked. The headmaster turned his head to her in surprise before he showed a bright smile and nodded. "Oh yes, of course. This way." The headmaster replied, before he started to walk off to find where the Beginners' Class was while Ash and the others followed him.

Meanwhile, out on the streets of Rustboro City, the Rocket Trio were there; the three had finally arrived in the city and they were looking around to see the various buildings around them. "Ah, we're finally here! This place is bigger than I thought it would be." Jessie happily commented, showing a smile of excitement. While she was looking at the sights around her, James showed an expression of concern as there was something he had just realised.

"Jessie, are you sure it's safe for us to walk out in the streets like this?" James worriedly asked. Jessie turned her glance to him with an expression of surprise at this question and then she showed a confident smile as she turned around to face the other two.

"Oh, of course it is! In these kinds of cities, the streets are usually crowded so we blend right in. And besides, no one here in Hoenn really knows who we are, so we'll be safe while we're here." Jessie explained. James and Meowth stared in silence for a few seconds before they both showed bright smiles. "Hey, great call, Jessie!" Meowth commented. "Thank goodness for that..." James added, showing a smile of relief at the fact that no one in Hoenn knew who they were since they had only been here for a short while. Jessie couldn't help showing a bright smile seeing that her two comrades understood what she was trying to say. Once that was taken care of, Jessie showed a firm expression and placed both her hands on her hips as it was time for them to get started on their plan of officially beginning to turn themselves around.

"All right then, listen up, you two. Our first order of business in this city is to find somewhere to stay. Considering that Rustboro City is one of those cities that has something for everyone, that shouldn't be too big of an issue. And luckily, we have a map of the city so we know where we are at all times." Jessie explained, before turning her glance to James. James stared at her in puzzlement, wondering why she was looking at him, before he remembered that he was carrying his guidebook and grabbed it out before opening it up to show the map of Rustboro and the three looked down at the map so they could figure out where the nearest hotel was from their location.

"Okay, let's see... At the moment, we're here..." James pointed to one of the streets as that was where he was and the others were standing at the moment and he slowly trailed his finger across the map until he spotted a nice hotel a few streets across from their location. "And the nearest hotel from where we are is right over here." With this, the Rocket Trio all turned their heads to each other knowing what they had to do now.

"Well then, let's get going!" Jessie stated. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, and the three started to make their way down to the street that James pointed out; with the rate they were going, they were certain this plan would succeed for sure.

Back with Ash and the others, they arrived at a door that was leading into a different classroom from the ones they had been to so far. "Here we are; this is Miss Roxanne's classroom." The headmaster said, turning to the group as he was talking. With this, he opened the door to show a classroom with the younger students sitting in their seats and Roxanne standing at the front desk and when the group stepped into the room, they were met with a surprise when they saw Professor Oak talking to the class on the screen at the front of the classroom.

"So in conclusion, there are many types of Pokemon in existence. Is that clear?" Professor Oak asked. "Yes, Professor!" The students replied in unison. Ash and the others made their way up to the front of the classroom while the students watched in surprise so they could see Professor Oak. "Professor Oak!" Ash called, showing a bright smile while Pikachu happily waved at the screen. Professor Oak turned his glance down with a bright smile when he noticed the group.

"Why, hello, Ash! And May, Brock and Misty. How are you all?" Professor Oak asked. "It's nice to see you again, Professor. I'm not sure if I've told you this yet, but I actually used to come to this Trainer's School when I was little." May replied as she waved to the screen. Professor Oak showed a bright smile at this while Tommy was watching from his seat and he showed a smug smile, and Roxanne turned her glance to the group upon realising that they were here as well.

"You see, everyone, here at the Trainer's School, we receive lectures from Professor Oak via video phone." Roxanne explained, before she looked back at the screen while Professor Oak turned to Ash.

"Since you're here, Ash, I'm assuming you've finished your Gym Battle, is that correct?" Professor Oak asked. Ash could only stare in silence and before he had the chance to respond, Roxanne seemed to do the job for him. "Actually, we haven't had our Gym Battle yet, Professor." Roxanne replied. Ash turned his head to Roxanne and stared in surprise for a few seconds before an expression of alarm came to his face and he pointed to Roxanne in disbelief. "Wait a minute... you're the Gym Leader?" he asked. Roxanne turned to him and nodded in confirmation, while May could only show a smile of excitement that the fact that Roxanne was not only a teacher at the Trainer's School, but also a Gym Leader.

"Roxanne is one of the most accomplished students to ever graduate from this school. Her battles were always flawless and she was quickly promoted to Gym Leader." The headmaster explained. Ash quickly showed a bright smile and he turned to Roxanne. "Now that's pretty cool." he commented with Pikachu nodding in agreement.

"Thank you, Ash. But I'll be teaching this class until tonight, so do you think we could have our Gym Battle tomorrow?" Roxanne asked. Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; that sounded like a fair deal to him.

"Good luck to the both of you and have a great battle!" Professor Oak stated. "Thanks!" Ash and Roxanne replied in unison as they both turned to their heads to the screen. Professor Oak then looked up at the students in the class and waved to them with a big smile.

"And you kids keep catching those Pokemon! Goodbye for now!" Professor Oak stated. "Goodbye!" The class replied in unison, and with that the screen turned off. As the group stared at the now black screen, Tommy turned his head to May.

"Hey, May!" May nearly jumped in surprise from hearing that voice and turned around to notice that Tommy was the one talking to her. "You said that you went to this Trainer's School yourself, right?" he asked.

"Uh... yeah, that's right." May replied, slowly nodded in confirmation as she started to wonder why Tommy was asking her this. "Well, let's see if you can answer this question: what kind of attacks would be most effective against Flying Pokemon?" Tommy asked. May looked up to think for a few moments before a bright smile came to her face and she looked down at Tommy to answer that.

"Well, from what I've learnt, Electric type attacks like Thunderbolt and Thunder would help out with that." May replied. Tommy stared in silence for a few moments at this, but he then stood up from his seat and placed his hands against the table, much to May's surprise.

"Okay then, what attacks would work on Pokemon that used Dig to go underground?" Tommy then asked. May turned her head up again to think for a few moments, before a bright smile came to her face and she turned her glance to Tommy to answer his question.

"Well, from what I remember... moves like Magnitude and Earthquake would be able to help with that kind of situation." May replied. Tommy stood in wordless silence for a few before he showed a glare in May's direction. "So you do know some stuff about Pokemon. Big deal!" Tommy retorted. May nearly jumped from alarm at this reaction and she started to look down in dismay while Ash showed an expression of concern watching her. Luckily, Roxanne stepped forward as she was quick to handle this issue.

"Okay, that's enough of that, Tommy." Roxanne said. "I was just asking..." Tommy replied. Roxanne then showed a firm expression before she spoke again. "Tommy, you and the other students aren't here in this class to compete with one another, but to learn and grow together as friends." Roxanne explained.

"And it's important to remember our school motto: go forth together with me, my friend, and that's what we like to practice." The headmaster added. Tommy slowly nodded in understanding before going back into his seat. Once that was taken care of, Ash and the others all turned to each other.

"Well, I guess we're going to be into Rustboro City for a while now." Misty commented. "Why don't we see if there's a place we can stay? I know that the Pokemon Centre isn't too far from here." Brock suggested. The others showed bright smiles and nodded in agreement; that sounded like a good idea to them. So with this, they all turned their glances to Roxanne and the headmaster.

"We better get going. It was nice to see you again, Roxanne!" May happily commented, waving as the group turned to leave. But as they were about to head out of the classroom, Roxanne rushed over to catch up with them.

"Before you go, could I ask you all a favour?" Roxanne asked. The group all turned around to face Roxanne as they were wondering what she wanted to ask them. "A few of the teachers including myself will be out of the school tomorrow for a meeting, so we'll need substitutes to fill our places. Do you think you could all help with running the classes for the day?" Roxanne asked. Ash and the others all stared in surprise and looked at each other for a few seconds, blinking as they were wondering what they should do, before they all looked back at Roxanne and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, sure thing!" Ash replied. "We'll be more than happy to help you out." Misty commented. "If that means I get to help with the Coordinator Class, then I'm in too!" May happily stated. "You can count on me to help too." Brock added. Roxanne showed a grateful smile once she heard that everyone was willing to help for the day.

"Thanks, everyone. I'll be looking forward to seeing you all back here at the Trainer's School tomorrow." Roxanne replied. "Same here!" The group agreed in unison, nodding while Pikachu showed a bright smile and nodded along with them; he was looking forward to helping out in one of the classes for the day.

As evening rolled around, Ash and the others arrived at the front door of the Pokemon Centre; it was a large two-storied building with one floor for the main area of the centre and a second floor that had rooms for the Trainers to stay in along with a triangle shaped roof. "Well, it looks like this is the place." Brock commented, looking up from his guidebook to ensure that they were at the right place.

"This looks a lot bigger than the other Pokemon Centres I've been to so far." May commented, turning her glance up to notice that there were two floors of the buildings. "My guess is that's because the second floor is for Trainers who are staying overnight." Ash replied. May showed a smile before nodding in understanding; that seemed to make sense. With this, the group walked over to make their way inside the Pokemon Centre as the door opened automatically to let them in and they looked around before spotting Nurse Joy sitting behind the front desk. As Nurse Joy was typing something on the computer beside her, she looked up to see Ash and the others walking over, with Brock having a big smile on his face, which had gone bright red upon seeing her, and showed a bright smile before standing up and walking over to see them.

"Oh, hello! How can I help you this evening?" Nurse Joy asked. Ash was about to speak up and ask for a room, but he was interrupted by Brock pushed past him and May and ran over to Nurse Joy to grab her hands while she stared in surprise. "You can certainly help me! I'm in need of a private room, and I want you to share it with me. It could be just the two of us in one room together!" Brock gushed. Misty let out a sigh of annoyance before she grabbed Brock by the ear and started to pull him away while Ash and May watched on.

"Right now, the only room I can think of that would fit you is a closet that you won't be able to get out of without any help!" Misty snapped. "Ow, ow! Not the ear!" Brock groaned as Misty dragged him away. Ash and May both stared in surprise before they turned their heads to each other.

"When do you think Brock will learn that he won't have any luck by doing what he always does?" Ash asked. "Probably never at the rate he's going!" May teased, showing a cheeky smile. The two then started to laugh at this comment, while Pikachu simply shook his head as he was aware that Brock probably wouldn't change anytime soon. After a few seconds, Ash and May calmed down before they both turned their heads back to Nurse Joy, as she had recovered from that surprise from Brock.

"Sorry about our friend; he tends to get a little carried away. We'd like a room for four, please. We'll probably be in Rustboro City for a while." Ash explained. "Of course!" Nurse Joy replied, showing a bright smile and nodding in understanding, before opening up one of the cupboards behind her desk and showing a key with a number written on the top.

"Your room is on the second floor. The staircase is just that way." Nurse Joy said, pointing to the end of the hallway on the right to show a staircase that led upstairs to the rooms. Ash and May both turned their heads to see the staircase and showed bright smiles before looking back at Nurse Joy.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash replied. He then turned around to see Misty walking over with Brock, as she was still dragging him behind her, to see how things were going. "We managed to book a room for us; our door number is 16." Ash stated. Misty showed a bright smile at this before she let go of Brock, leaving him to drop on the floor before he shook his head to recover and stood upright behind them.

"That's great to hear!" Misty happily commented. With this, the four made their way up to the top of the staircase and walked down the hallway before they came across the right door; they could see the number 16 on the front of the door. Ash fit the key in the slot and turned it before they heard the door unlock, and then he opened the door to show their room; there were two bunk beds on either side of the room and there was a bedside table for each bunk bed that had a small lamp on them, along with a glass door in the middle that led to a small balcony.

"So this is our room? It doesn't look all that bad." Ash commented, turning his glance around to look at the room. May noticed the glass door just in the middle of the room and ran over to open it up before she stepped out onto the balcony, and then she turned around to the others.

"Guys, we have a great view from out here!" May called. Ash walked over to have a look with her while Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to have a look at the room and Brock and Misty took their bags off their shoulders and placed them down beside the bunk bed they would be sharing; it seemed that Brock and Misty had one bunk bed to themselves while Ash and May had the other. As May was staring up at the evening sky in awe, she turned her glance to see Ash was now standing beside her. "Look at that, Ash. Isn't this a great view of the sunset from up here?" May happily asked.

"Yeah." Ash replied, nodding in agreement as he and May turned their heads back to the evening sky; they could see the sun slowly set over the horizon and the once bright blue sky was now painted a colour combination of bright orange and purple. After a few seconds, Ash turned his head to May and showed a bright smile seeing just how happy she looked. "Hey, May?" he asked.

"Yeah, Ash? What's up?" May asked in response, turning her glance to him. Ash turned his glance down for a few seconds, while May watched in surprise wondering what was up, before he looked back up at her. "I'm not sure how long we're going to be here in Rustboro City, but I was just wondering... what do you plan on doing in the city after I have my Gym Battle?" Ash asked.

May nearly jumped in surprise as she felt her cheeks start to go red since she knew the answer to that question, but she quickly turned her head back to the evening sky as the sun had now disappeared over the horizon and the sky was now slowly starting to turn dark blue in colour. "Well, I was thinking that maybe I could look at some of the shops that are around and see what they're selling. And I could have a look for a nice place to enjoy some lunch and dinner, and maybe even..." May then let out a sigh as she knew that she couldn't hide the truth and she slowly turned her head to Ash as she finished her sentence. "Maybe even spend time with you, Ash."Ash turned his head to May with an expression of surprise upon hearing this and he could see that May was slowly showing a bright smile. "I was planning on asking you this after you had your Gym Battle with Roxanne, but since that won't happen until after tomorrow, I figured I should ask you this now." May explained. Ash stared at her in silence wondering what she wanted to ask him while above their heads without them noticing, the sky had now turned dark blue and stars slowly started to appear like lights lighting up the sky. After a few seconds, May slowly turned her glance up to Ash, feeling ready to say this now.

"Ash, after you have your Gym Battle, would you be willing to... spend the day in the city with me? Just the two of us? You and I, together?" May asked. Ash could only stare in shock hearing this request; if he didn't know any better, it sounded like May was asking him out. It didn't take him very long to figure out the answer to that question, though, because he slowly showed a bright smile and nodded. May nearly felt her heart stop as soon as she saw that small gesture; she may not have heard any words come out of Ash's mouth, but that was all she needed. "Wait... you mean it?" she then quietly asked, just to be sure that she was seeing things right.

"Yeah, I do. If winning the Gym Battle means that I'll get to do that with you, then it will make winning feel more worth it." Ash replied. While this was happening, the two didn't notice Pikachu watching them as he had poked his head out to see what was going on, and he nearly dropped in stunned silence when he heard what Ash just said. May could only stare in shock for a few seconds as she was trying to register what Ash just said, before a bright smile slowly crossed her face. "Thanks, Ash. I'm looking forward to spending the day with you." May commented.

"So am I." Ash agreed, nodding before he reached forward to take May's hands in his. May turned her glance down with an expression of surprise to see this, and then she looked up to see Ash smiling at her and she couldn't help herself smiling back, while the stars shone brightly in the sky over their heads. As Pikachu watched this, he felt a big smile cross his face and he started to jump and down in excitement. "(Yes! Yes! Yes! It happened. It finally happened! Ash and May are going to spend the day together!)" Pikachu cheered. Ash and May didn't notice Pikachu cheering in excitement as they both simply smiled at each other, enjoying just being together.

"Hey, Ash! May!" Ash and May both turned their heads to see Brock and Misty calling them, as they were about to head downstairs. "We're going to order some takeaway for dinner. Are you coming too?" Brock asked. Ash and May both stared in surprise before they showed bright smiles and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we'll be right there!" Ash replied. With this, the two started to follow after Brock and Misty as they stepped outside their room, making sure to lock the door behind them. As they arrived downstairs, they were met with a surprise when they saw Roxanne sitting on one of the chairs; it looked like she had been waiting for them for a while. "Roxanne?" May asked, showing an expression of surprise. Roxanne turned her head to see Ash and the others walking over and showed a bright smile before she stood up from the chair.

"Oh, hello there! I've just been waiting for you." Roxanne commented. Ash and the others stared in surprise, before May quickly showed a bright smile of excitement. "Roxanne, would you like to join us for some dinner?" May asked.

Roxanne showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "Sure, that would be great!" she cheerfully replied.

Meanwhile out in the city, the Rocket Trio had arrived at the hotel they were going to stay at and were taking the elevator up to their room. "Ah, finally! Getting our room was a bit of a hassle, but at least now we finally get to relax." Jessie commented, stretching her arms up as she let out a content sigh while James and Meowth were both watching her; they had a bit of a hard time managing to be able to actually stay in the hotel because of the cost, but Jessie was able to take care of that problem for them.

"I can't agree more with you on that, Jess. After all the walking we've done to get here, some time to relax is something I could really use." James commented, nodding in agreement with her. "Yeah; my feet are sore all over from having to walk all day in that forest. It'll feel good to finally put my feet on a comfortable surface." Meowth agreed. Just then, Wobbuffet suddenly popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" in agreement with them. The Rocket Trio all looked down to see Wobbuffet standing in the elevator with them with Jessie showing an expression of annoyance.

"If you don't stay in your Pokeball like you're supposed to, I'm leaving you in the lobby!" Jessie snapped, before she grabbed Wobbuffet's Pokeball out and returned him into it. After that was taken care of, the elevator finally stopped at its destination: the 10th floor. The elevator doors opened and the Rocket Trio stepped out of the elevator to have a look for their room. "So, where did that receptionist say our room was?" Jessie asked, turning her head to James.

"Uh, let's see..." James had a look around to see if he could figure out where their room was before pointing just ahead of where they were currently standing. "I think she said that it was Room Number 30 when we come to the end of the left hallway." With this, the Rocket Trio made their way down to the end of the hallway... only to come to a dead end. James had a look in disbelief before he showed a nervous smile while Jessie and Meowth both glared at him. "Oh... my mistake. It was on the end of the other hallway." James commented as he started to scratch the back of his head. Jessie and Meowth both let out sighs of dismay; they had a feeling that it would be a while before they would finally be to relax after their trek here.

Back at the Pokemon Centre, the group were sitting at one of the tables; they were enjoying a takeaway order of fried rice they had gotten, and May was telling Roxanne about what she had been up to during her journey so far. "Wow, May. It sounds like you've been doing a lot so far. I was actually watching the Rustboro Contest during my break, but I must have missed your rounds." Roxanne commented; she had been listening to May telling her about how she competed in the Rustboro Contest and won it. May nodded in agreement before opening her bag to show the Ribbon she got.

"Here's the Contest Ribbon I won." May said, grabbing her Ribbon out and placing it on the table for Roxanne to have a look at it. Roxanne looked down at the Ribbon with an expression of awe. "I know, right? I didn't really have any idea if I'd win it. And if I win all five Contest Ribbons, I might be able to compete in the Grand Festival!" May explained. Roxanne showed a bright smile before turning her glance up to May and nodded in understanding.

"That's great to hear. I hope you decide to go for winning all five Contest Ribbons; it sounds like being a Pokemon Coordinator might be just the thing you're looking for." Roxanne commented. May showed an expression of surprise at this and then she looked down in uncertainty; she did hear the same thing from Janet, but she wasn't entirely sure just yet. Brock and Misty were both listening to this conversation, and then they turned their heads to notice that one of the chairs at the table was empty; Ash wasn't there.

"Where did Ash go?" Misty asked, showing an expression of surprise as she was sure Ash was sitting with them just a few minutes ago. "He must have gone off to continue training for the Gym Battle." Brock commented. May stared in silence for a few moments before she stood up from her chair while the others looked up at her.

"I think I'll go find where Ash is." May suggested. She then started to walk off to have a look around while Brock, Misty and Roxanne watched before they figured to continue eating, as they knew that the two would be back with them soon. As May was walking through the area near the Pokemon Centre, she heard the cries of Pokemon from nearby and ran over to poke her head out from behind the Pokemon Centre to see Ash was there; he was busy training with his Pokemon, as Pikachu and Riolu were up against each other and Larvitar and Treecko were battling against each other.

"All right, Larvitar, use Dig!" Ash called. With this, Larvitar jumped up into the air before burrowing underneath the ground while Treecko watched to see where Larvitar would pop up before leaping out of the way just as Larvitar popped up from the area he was at. "Let's go, Riolu!" Ash then said, turning his attention to the other battle. Riolu charged out a blue ball of energy between his paws before firing it towards Pikachu, to which Pikachu turned around and slammed it back with his tail.

From where she was, May watched the two battles taking place and she couldn't help herself showing a bright smile seeing just how hard Ash was training to make sure he would win. As Ash was busy, he then felt like there was someone watching him and turned his head to see May standing there with a big smile on her face. "May?" he asked, to which the four Pokemon he was training with turned their heads to notice her there as well. May nearly jumped from alarm upon realising that she had been spotted and she quickly showed a nervous smile before she started to walk over to them.

"Oh, uh... hi, Ash. Brock and Misty were wondering where you went, so I thought I'd come and make sure you were okay. Doing some late night training, huh?" May asked, while Ash stood up to face her. Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's right. I want to make sure everyone's ready to go for when we have the Gym Battle. So I've been having them battle against each other so that they know what to do when they get out there. Right, guys?" Ash asked, turning around to look down at his Pokemon. The four in question started to cheer in agreement with Ash, to which he couldn't help but giggle to himself seeing just how enthusiastic everyone was for the Gym Battle. May was watching as well and then she turned her glance up to Ash with a bright smile.

"Wow... I think that's amazing." May happily commented. Ash showed an expression of surprise as he started to wonder what May was talking about and he watched as May turned her head up to look at the night sky. "This is only the first Gym Battle that you're going up against in Hoenn and you're already working hard to make sure you come out with the best results. I really wish I could have the same amount of devotion towards a goal as you do." May explained. Ash listened in silence before a bright smile came to his face and he walked over to May, while she turned around to see him behind her.

"Well, don't you worry, May. I'm sure that sooner or later, you'll be able to find something you enjoy doing." Ash commented. May turned her glance to him and nodded in agreement with a bright smile; she knew for sure that he was right. Ash then showed an expression of concern as there was something he noticed when they first met Roxanne and her class and while they were at the Beginner's Class. "May, can I ask you something?" he asked. May showed an expression of surprise before she nodded, as she was wondering what Ash was feeling concerned about. "When we first saw Roxanne and her class at the tower, I noticed that you looked a bit upset when you saw Kenny being yelled at by Tommy, and while we were at the Beginner's Class, I noticed that you were upset when Tommy got mad after you were able to answer his questions. Why was that? Was there something you remembered from when you were there?" Ash asked. May nearly jumped upon hearing this, and she let out a sigh as an expression of dismay crossed her face and she turned her glance down, while Ash watched her in concern.

"Well, Ash..." May let out a sigh before turning her glance to Ash. "I didn't mention this while we were there, but... my time while I was at Trainer's School couldn't have been more unpleasant if it tried. Since I wasn't as fond of Pokemon as the other students were, I had a really hard time managing while I was there. And that didn't make things easy when the other students tried to talk to me about things concerning Pokemon. And then there was just one student in particular who didn't make things easy for me at all..." May explained, turning her glance as she remembered what things were like for her while she was there...

_As May was sitting by herself at her desk and reading one of her books she brought along with her one day, two other children were walking down to the practice arenas and spotted her sitting by herself. "Hey, isn't that the girl that doesn't like Pokemon?" One of the children, who was a boy, asked as he was whispering this to the other person beside him, who happened to be a girl. The girl stared at him before showing an expression of annoyance._

"_Hey, don't say something like that! I'll go see if I can talk to her." The girl said before she walked over to where May's desk was. "Hey, May?" she asked. May lifted her head up from her book to see the girl looking at her with a bright smile as her partner caught up with her. "We're going to head down to the practice arenas to have a battle. Would you like to come with us?" The girl asked. May simply shook her head in response._

"_No thanks; I'll pass." May replied. The girl showed an expression of disappointment while the boy simply shook his head before turning his head to May. "Man, how are you ever going to manage heading out into the world if you don't know how to get along with Pokemon?" he asked. May stared up at him in alarm while his partner turned her head and showed a glare in his direction. _

"_Don't mind him. We'll just be on our way out." The girl said, before she started to walk off to the arena while pushing the boy in front of her as she glared at him in annoyance. "Seriously, do you have to say things like that? What's the matter with you?" she asked._

"_Well, can't you tell that she can't manage being near Pokemon? How is she ever going to become a Pokemon Trainer if she acts like this?" The boy retorted. The two may have already gone off, but May could hear their conversation and she slowly looked down with an expression of sadness showing on her face._

_Later in the day, May was making her way over to her afternoon class when she noticed the boy she ran into earlier watching her. "It's you again! What do you want?" May asked, nearly jumping in surprise before an expression of annoyance came to her face. The boy simply showed a smug smile before he walked over to her._

"_I just wanted to ask you something: is it true that you're not very fond of Pokemon?" he asked. May simply stared in surprise before she nodded in agreement, as that was certainly the case. "So then, I think its best that you should leave the Trainer's School while you can." The boy commented. May let out a gasp of shock as soon as she heard this and she could only stare in bewilderment._

"_What?! Why would you tell me to do something like that?" May asked. "Well, look at you. You never pay attention during the classes, you always say no when someone asks you for a practice; it's pretty clear as day that you aren't suited for becoming a Pokemon Trainer." The boy commented, walking in a circle around May while she watched an expression of irritation on her face._

"_What are you talking about? I like coming to this school!" May retorted. "Maybe, but what good is learning about Pokemon going to do you if you won't be able to manage getting out into the world with them? Do yourself a favour and just leave us alone; you really aren't meant to be here." The boy commented, before shoving May down onto the ground causing her to drop the books she was carrying. May slowly lifted her head up and watched as the boy walked away, and she could feel tears building in her eyes as she couldn't help herself wondering why he was always after her..._

"Because of that kid, I couldn't have been happier when I finally got out of Trainer's School. But as the days leading up to my thirteenth birthday passed, all I could think about was that kid and what he said to me; all I ever thought about was what he said to me every time I ran into him. When I saw Kenny getting yelled at, I instantly saw myself in his shoes and I remembered how hard life at Trainer's School was for me. I didn't say anything about it because I didn't want to make you and the others worry, but that was the only thing I could think about when I saw Kenny..." May explained. She then felt tears building in her eyes and she quickly closed them as she didn't want Ash to see her like this. Ash could only stare in shock and she slowly turned his glance down in sadness having heard this.

"May... I'm sorry... I had no idea..." Ash quietly commented. May turned her head to him as she brushed her tears away and quickly shook her head in response. "You don't need to apologize, Ash! Of course you had no idea! I never said anything about my problems to my parents either because I didn't want to make them worry, but every day when I got home from Trainer's School, all I ever did was collapse on my bed crying because I was so upset. I guess trying to handle the problem myself wasn't the smartest move for me to make..." May replied, showing an expression of dismay as she remembered how she never told Norman and Caroline about her problems and how that always backfired on her. "Even now, I look back on what that boy always told me; how I wouldn't be able to manage in the world if I didn't get along with Pokemon and that I'd never be able to be strong as a Pokemon Trainer." May continued, letting out a sigh of dismay as those words echoed through her ears. Ash watched her in silence before he showed a soft expression and placed both of his hands on May's shoulder, prompting her to look up at him in surprise.

"But now is a different story for you, right? You've managed to come a long way since you started your journey: you have four Pokemon on your team, you're battling on your own without any problem and you were even able to compete in a Pokemon Contest and win in it! As far as I can tell, someone who wouldn't be able to manage in the world with Pokemon wouldn't be able to do that much, and I know for sure that someone like that isn't you. You've managed to do a lot since you started this journey, and that's something I think you should be proud of. We'll always have your back and we'll always believe in you no matter what happens." Ash explained. He then showed a bright smile before he continued. "If I ever meet the kid who said those things about you, I'll tell him about everything you've been able to accomplish by yourself and how you've grown up from that insecure, uncertain girl into the Trainer you are now."

May could only stare in awe hearing all of this and then she slowly showed a bright smile with tears building up in her eyes, this time from happiness of what Ash was telling her. "Ash... you'd do that? For me?" she quietly asked. Ash simply showed May a bright smile and slowly nodded in agreement. "Of course." he simply replied.

May honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing; first Ash accepted her offer to spend the day with her after his Gym Battle and now this. It almost felt like a dream come true having Ash by her side, and hearing that he would actually do that for her made her feel like she was soaring up to the moon from joy. "Ash, thank you." May sincerely replied. The two then brightly smiled at each other before wrapping their arms around each other in a hug, with May happily nuzzling up against Ash while he simply watched her with a bright smile seeing how happy she was. After a few seconds, the two let go and simply looked each other in the eyes. "I really have no idea how I would have been able to get this far without you by my side. You're always here to support me and you always believe in me no matter what happens. I just feel so fortunate to have met you, Ash." May explained, with tears of joy in her eyes.

"It's not a problem at all, May. I just always like to help you out in any way I can." Ash replied. May showed a bright smile at this reply and she turned to head back to where the others were waiting for them, while Ash watched with a bright smile; he was looking forward to spending the day with her after he won the Gym Battle. But right now, all he could think was how they were going to help out of the Trainer's School the next morning.

Sure enough, the next morning came quicker than the group expected it to and they had arrived back to the Trainer's School. They had figured out who would help with what class in advance: Ash was taking the Beginner's Class, Brock was helping the Pokemon Doctor Class, May was down at the Coordinator Class and Misty would be helping out at the Battling Class. Ash was a bit disappointed that he wasn't going to help with the Battling Class, but he didn't raise any complaints about it since he knew they had to help around the school. With Ash, he had just arrived at the door at the Beginner's Class and he opened it to see Roxanne talking to the class. "Oh, Ash! You're here right on time." Roxanne commented, showing a bright smile when she turned to see that Ash was here. As Ash stepped inside the classroom, Roxanne turned her head back to the class. "Everyone, Ash will be your substitute teacher while I'm at the meeting. Make sure you listen to everything he tells you and if you have any questions for him, don't be afraid to ask." Roxanne explained as Ash turned to face the class with a bright smile.

"Okay!" The class replied in unison. With this, Roxanne then turned to Ash. "Thank you again for coming to help, Ash. I'll be back this afternoon to hear about everything you've done." Roxanne said. Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.

"We'll make sure that the day is a lot of fun for everyone. Right, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning his head to his partner Pokemon, who showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "(That's right!)" Pikachu cheerfully agreed.

Meanwhile with May, she had arrived at the door of the Coordinator Class. "Wow... here's my class! This is going to be the best!" May happily commented with a smile of excitement crossing her face. With this, she opened the door and stepped inside to which the class turned their heads to see her from their desks. "Good morning, class!" May happily greeted, waving to the class as she walked over to the front desk and stood in front of it. The students turned their heads up and showed expression of surprise to see May here.

"Uh... where's our regular teacher?" One of the students asked. "He's out of the school at a meeting with a few of the other teachers, so I'll be taking your class for the day!" May replied. As soon as the class heard this, they could stare in silence for a few seconds before they started to talk amongst themselves.

"Is she sure she knows what she's doing?"

"Why would the teacher choose someone like her? Does she even know about being a Pokemon Coordinator?"

"Sounds like a bad idea to me. Why didn't he ask for someone else?"

May could hear the whispering and she looked down with an expression of concern. "I guess not everyone is as enthusiastic about this as I am..." May commented to herself. She then placed a hand under her chin as she started to think about what she could do to ease the situation and then she looked up as an idea clicked in her head. _'I know!' _With a bright smile, May opened her bag up and placed her hand in, shuffling around for a few seconds before she found the item she was looking for and turned her head back up to the class. "Everyone, I have something special I would like to show you!" May called. The class all stopped whispering and turned their attention to May wondering what she wanted to show them, and May held out her Rustboro Contest Ribbon for all of them to see to which they started to show expressions of awe.

"Wow..." All the students could only say in unison. After a few seconds, one of the students in the front row put his hand up. "Is that a Contest Ribbon?" he asked.

May cheerfully nodded in confirmation, seeing that she now had everyone's attention. "Yeah, it sure is. Coordinators who enter a Pokemon Contest have the chance to win a Ribbon just like this one, and when they manage to win all five Contest Ribbons, they'll be able to enter in the Pokemon Grand Festival!" May explained. The expression of awe from the students quickly turned into bright smiles; they had a feeling that this was going to be a special class with May as their teacher.

Meanwhile with Brock's class, he was getting ready to bring out his Pokemon so he could show the class how to properly care for their Pokemon. "Forretress and Lotad, come on out!" Brock said, throwing his two Pokeballs out which opened and released both his Pokemon. However, it seemed that Lotad was sleeping while he was standing up as his eyes were still closed. Brock took notice of this, as he bent down to Lotad with an expression of puzzlement. "Lotad, you think you could wake up?" Brock asked, tapping Lotad's lily pad head. Lotad blinked his eyes open a few times and looked around the class before showing a bright smile, to which Brock dropped on the floor while the class couldn't help themselves laughing at the amusing sight. After a few seconds, they all calmed down as Brock stood up to address them.

"Now, everyone, take note of how well I've taken care of both my Forretress and Lotad. My Lotad is actually quite special: it knows how to use Water Gun." Brock explained. The class all showed smiles of fascination hearing this and then one of the girls in the second row put her head up. "Could we please see a demonstration?" she asked.

"Of course. Lotad, use Water Gun!" Brock replied. However, he didn't get any response and turned his head down to see that Lotad was staring blankly and didn't seem to pay any attention to him. Seeing this, Brock bent down to Lotad showing a nervous smile. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked. Lotad turned his head to Brock and shot out a blast of water directly at Brock's face, soaking him after he stopped. "I guess Lotad has a mind of its own..." Brock commented, dropping onto the floor again while the class were simply watching in amusement.

Back with Ash's class, he was watching the students as they were tending to the Pokemon they brought over from the storage room. As he was watching them with a bright smile, he turned his glance to spot Anita sitting at her desk with a Pidgey and walked over to her. "Hey there!" Ash greeted. Anita lifted her head up to see Ash looking at her with a bright smile. "It looks like Pidgey really likes you." Ash commented. Anita stared in surprise before she showed a smile in return.

"Thanks, Mr. Ash." Anita replied. Ash showed a nervous smile at the formality before he looked back down at Anita. "You can just call me Ash. I'm not really suited to formalities." Ash commented. Anita nodded in understanding and she watched as Ash walked over and pulled a chair back so he was sitting next to her. "You know, Anita, you're really lucky to live in a place like Rustboro City that has a Trainer's School." Ash said, with Pikachu nodding in agreement. Anita rested her head in her head and she showed an expression of dismay as she turned her glance upwards.

"I'm not really as lucky as you think." Anita said. Ash showed an expression of surprise wondering what she was talking about as Anita turned her head to him. "I don't really care about Pokemon; the only reason I come to this Trainer's School is because my parents make me attend." Anita explained.

"Really?" Ask asked in surprise. Anita nodded in confirmation before turning her glance to Kenny who was standing near the right end of the room by himself and keeping his glance down on the floor. "Kenny feels the same way; he's so afraid of Pokemon, he doesn't want to touch them." Anita added. Ash stared in surprise before turning his head to Pikachu with an expression of concern.

"It's hard to believe that Kenny's so afraid of Pokemon. I feel like I want to help him out, but I don't really know how to go about doing it..." Ash commented, mostly to himself as he wanted to figure out how to help Kenny overcome his fear of touching Pokemon. Pikachu placed a paw under his chin as he looked down to think, and then a bright smile came to his face and he clicked his fingers as he had an idea. He then turned to Ash and started to tap the side of his head to get his attention, which worked as Ash turned to him in surprise. "Pikachu? What's up?" Ash asked. Pikachu then leaned forward and whispered his idea in Ash's ear, to which Ash listened before showing a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "Pikachu, that's a great idea!" Ash happily commented. Pikachu then nodded in agreement as he thought so as well, so Ash stood up from his seat and started to walk over to where Kenny was.

As Kenny was keeping his glance down on the floor, he slowly looked up to see Ash walking over holding Pikachu in his arms. "Hi there, Kenny." Ash greeted. When Kenny noticed Pikachu, he turned and started to walk away much to Ash's surprise. "Hey, don't be scared. I just want to introduce you to my best friend, Pikachu." Ash said. Kenny stopped and turned around to face Ash with an expression of surprise seeing the gentle smile Ash was showing him. He then looked up at Pikachu who was brightly smiling at him. "Your best friend?" he quietly asked, blinking a few times. Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah; Pikachu and I do everything together." Ash replied. "(That's right!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding in confirmation with Ash. As Kenny silently watched, Ash pressed a finger against one of Pikachu's red cheeks, making sure to avoid getting shocked. "Pikachu has really soft cheeks. Would you like to touch them?" Ash asked. While this was happening, Tommy took notice and started to walk over while Anita noticed with an expression of concern. "Uh oh..." Anita silently commented; she had a feeling that this wouldn't end well.

As Kenny started to reach up to touch one of Pikachu's cheeks, he turned his glance and showed an expression of alarm when he saw Tommy stumble forward and step on Poliwag's tail, causing the little Pokemon to let out a cry of pain before shooting out a blast of water from its mouth. Ash quickly turned around to notice this and grabbed Kenny's hand before the two ran out of the way as the blast of water hit the wall behind them. Once Poliwag had calmed down, Ash looked to see that no one was in the way and let out a sigh of relief before turning his head to Kenny. "Are you alright, Kenny?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. "Yes, I'm okay." Kenny replied, slowly nodding while Ash showed a smile of relief. Ash then noticed that Tommy was walking over with an apologetic expression.

"What happened?" Ash asked as he and Kenny stood upright. "I'm sorry... I accidently stepped on Poliwag's tail." Tommy explained. Anita had been watching this and she showed an expression of anger as she could tell what really happened.

"Liar! I could tell you did it on purpose!" Anita snapped. Tommy turned to her with an expression like he had no idea what she was talking about. "I did not. Why would I possibly do something like that?" Tommy asked in response. Anita showed a glare in response before she marched over while Ash watched in disbelief.

"Why do you have to be so mean to Kenny all the time? He never did anything wrong to you, but you still treat him the way you do! I would almost think that you do this on purpose just to upset him." Anita commented. As Ash watched the argument, he knew that he didn't want to get himself worked up lest he make everything worse, so he quietly took a deep breath and waited for a few seconds before letting it out to calm himself down. Once that was done, he walked over to Anita and Tommy as they glared at each other before stepped in between them while they looked up at him in surprise.

"All right, calm down, you two. It doesn't matter if it was an accident or not, just as long as no one got hurt." Ash explained, while Pikachu nodded in agreement. Tommy and Anita both glared back at each other before turning their heads away while Ash watched in concern. "I guess this is going to be harder than I thought... I wonder how the others are doing with their classes." Ash commented to himself, turning his glance up as he wondering how the others were doing.

With Misty, she was getting her class right on track as she was watching the battle that was taking place on the arena; it was between Meganium and Venasaur. As Misty and the rest of the class watched the battle from the sidelines, Misty had a big smile on her face and she looked down at Togepi. "I had no idea that helping with classes could be so exciting!" Misty happily commented, with Togepi letting out a happy chirp of agreement in her arms.

Back with May, she had gotten the class to move the desks to the side so she could give them a demonstration. "When you enter a Pokemon Contest, the first round is the Appeal Round. This is when Coordinators get to make a good first impression on the judges by showing their level of control over their moves and their cooperation with their Trainers. I'll show you just what I mean." May explained, as she grabbed one of her Pokeballs from her belt. "Let's go, Ralts! Take the stage!" May said as she threw her Pokeball up into the air, which opened and released Ralts who landed on the arena in front of her. "All right, Ralts, let's give them your showstopper from the Rustboro Contest!" May stated, ready to start this demonstration.

Ralts showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding, so with this she sent out light purple psychic waves before holding them still like a hoop, after which she emanated bright purple hearts from her mouth and held them still so that they were floating beside the psychic waves and she lifted them up into the air before splitting them into the air, while the class watched in awe. "Woah... we never get to do this kind of thing in our usual classes!" One of the students commented, as he watched Ralts lift the psychic waves and hearts into different shapes above her head. May turned her head to him hearing this and she couldn't help herself showing a bright smile.

"Well, there's no better way to learn than by doing." May replied. She then turned her head to Ralts, ready to finish the demonstration. "Now it's time for our big finish, Ralts. Let's combine them!" May called. With this, Ralts lifted the psychic waves and hearts upwards until they all combined and exploded in a flash, causing purple light to rain down over May, Ralts and the class. The class all stared in awe for a few seconds before they started to clap while May turned to them with a bright smile. "Thank you. Thanks so much, everyone!" May stated, turning to the class with a bright smile. Just then, the student who had been watching her stepped forward as he had a question.

"There's something I don't understand. You said that was your showstopper from the Rustboro Contest. Does that mean that..." He let out a gasp as he registered what that meant. "You competed in the Rustboro Contest?" he asked.

"And does that also mean you won the Contest Ribbon there?" Another student asked. May nearly jumped hearing this, and then she slowly nodded in confirmation, with an expression of worry showing on her face as the class all stared at her in shock. After a few seconds of silence, the first student then spoke up.

"That... is... amazing!" The student replied, with a big smile of awe showing on his face. Without any hesitance, the rest of the class started to swarm around May, all of them happily praising her and wanting to know how she was able to win. As May listened to them, she couldn't help feeling her smile grow brighter as she saw just how thrilled they were to learn about all this.

Back with Ash and his class, they had stepped out onto the practice arenas with Ash carrying a container with six Pokeballs in it. "All right, everyone, it's time to start our Pokemon battle training! You get to choose one Pokeball and you will battle against one another until one of your Pokemon is unable to battle." Ash explained. For this battle, Ash had decided that Tommy and Kenny should go up against one another. Ash showed the container to the two, with Tommy grabbing the top right Pokeball. Kenny simply stared in worry and then he looked up to Ash watched him with a confident smile. "It's alright, Kenny. You don't need to worry about touching the Pokemon you use, you're just battling with them. Whatever happens, just do your best!" Ash reassuringly explained. Kenny nodded once before reaching forward and picking up the bottom right Pokeball before he and Tommy stepped out onto the arena.

"Are the battlers ready to begin?" Ash asked. "Yes!" Tommy and Kenny both replied in unison.

"All right then, let's start the battle!" Ash announced. "(Let's go!)" Pikachu cheerfully agreed, jumping off Ash's shoulder so he could watch the battle as well.

With this, Tommy threw out his Pokeball which opened to show a Magby, while Kenny threw his Pokeball out and it opened to reveal a Poliwag, with both Pokemon landing on their side of the arena. "It looks like Kenny will have the advantage since he's using a Water Type!" Ash commented, showing a bright smile while Pikachu nodded in agreement. Kenny then glanced down with an expression of uncertainty as he started to wonder about what he should do, which Ash quickly took notice of and figured that maybe he could use some support. "Kenny! Just do the best you can while you're out there!" Ash called, with a confident smile while Pikachu happily waved to him while nodding in agreement.

"While you're busy thinking, let me know what you think about this, Kenny! Magby, use Flamethrower!" Tommy stated. With this, Magby shot out a stream of fire from its mouth aiming towards Poliwag. Without a moment to spare, Kenny turned his head up ready to start battling.

"Poliwag, use Defense Curl!" Kenny called. With this, Poliwag pulled its feet and tail upwards around its body to protect itself from the flames, leaving it mostly unharmed. As Ash was watching this, he showed a bright smile as he started to watch Kenny. "Magby, Flamethrower!" Tommy said. Magby then shot out a stream of fire from its mouth as it was aiming towards Poliwag.

"Poliwag, use Water Gun!" Kenny replied. With this, Poliwag shot a blast of water from its mouth that ploughed through the flames and hit Magby directly, sending it flying backwards against the ground. "Now use Belly Drum!" Kenny added, seeing this as an opportunity to boost Poliwag's attack power. With this, Poliwag started kicking its feet back and forth rapidly until a red outline surrounded its body. Ash and the rest of the class all watched in awe from the sidelines. "Look at Kenny go... He really knows what he's doing!" Anita said, looking up at Ash, who nodded in agreement with her.

"Again, Magby! Use Flamerthrower!" Tommy called. With this, Magby shot out a stream of fire from its mouth aiming towards Poliwag. However, Poliwag was ready to go for more.

"All right, Poliwag, now use Water Gun!" Kenny said. Poliwag shot out a blast of water from its mouth, which looked surprisingly stronger from the last time it was used, and it ploughed right through the flames before hitting Magby directly. Magby was sent slamming onto the ground, knocked out while both Kenny and Tommy stared in shock.

"It looks like Magby is unable to battle! Poliwag is the winner!" Ash announced. Poliwag showed a bright smile and turned around to Kenny before running over to him and jumping into his arms. Kenny showed an expression of alarm seeing this, but when he noticed Poliwag brightly smiling at him, he couldn't help smiling back. As Kenny held Poliwag in his arms, he looked up to see Ash walking over to him. "Kenny, that was amazing! You see how much fun being friends with Pokemon can be if you give it a try? It's one of the best feelings a Trainer could ever have." Ash commented, showing a big smile while Pikachu nodded in agreement with him. Kenny stared up at him in surprise before slowly showing a smile and nodding, before he turned his head to see Tommy and Anita walk over to him.

"Kenny, you're not so bad after all." Tommy commented, showing a sincere smile. "And you're a great battler too!" Anita happily added. Kenny then showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; he didn't realise that himself until he gave it a try. While the three were happily talking to each other, Ash watched from the side with a smile before he turned his head to Pikachu.

"I guess being the teacher for a day really worked out great, huh?" Ash asked. "(Yeah, it sure did!)" Pikachu replied, nodding as a big smile showed on his face. The two then looked back to watch the group, seeing how just happy they all looked. Just then, they were met with a surprise as Kenny, Tommy and Anita walked up to them.

"Ash, thank you so much for being our teacher! I had no idea that learning about Pokemon could be this exciting!" Anita exclaimed. Ash stared in surprise for a few seconds before he showed a bright smile. "Oh, you're welcome, everyone. In case you need any help with your studies, you just let me know!" Ash replied, winking with a confident smile while Pikachu followed suit with him.

That evening, Ash and the others had all gathered together again and were talking to each other about how their classes went. "Wow, it sounds like you and Misty had a fun time. What about you, May? How did your class go?" Ash asked, turning his head to May as he had just finished hearing about how Brock and Misty went. In response, May stepped to the side to reveal that her class were standing there with her. "How come they're all here?" Ash asked as he, Brock and Misty showing matching expressions of surprise.

"I gained quite a few fans during my class; they learnt about how I entered in the Rustboro Contest." May replied. She then turned around to face the class as they were all watching her. "I even got to give them a few demonstrations of what to do in a Pokemon Contest." she added, with the class all nodding in agreement.

"Pokemon Contests sound so amazing! When I get my first Pokemon, I'm going to enter in Contests and win ribbons of my own!" One of the students said. "So am I!" Another agreed, nodding with a bright smile. As the class started to talk about what strategies they would use when they entered, May couldn't help herself showing a bright smile seeing just how excited they were about Contests now. The group then turned to see Roxanne walking over to them, as she had arrived back from the meeting.

"Ash, when I arrived back to from the Beginner's Class how their day was, they were all talking about how much they enjoyed having you as their teacher. I guess that means the day went very well! Thank you all so much for helping." Roxanne said, showing a bright smile of gratitude that Ash and the others were able to help. The group all couldn't help themselves smiling back.

"Oh, it was nothing, Roxanne. It was just fun to spend the day here." Misty commented. Roxanne then turned her glance to Ash.

"I'm looking forward to our battle tomorrow, Ash. I hope we'll both be ready for it." Roxanne commented. Ash showed a confident smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we sure will. When we get there, it's going to be one great battle! Right, Pikachu?" Ash replied, turning his head to his partner Pokemon to hear what he had to say. "(That's right!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a confident smile that matched Ash's, while the others watched him in amusement seeing how pumped up he was.

It had been a long day at the Trainer's School for Ash and the others, but it was worth it because they got to learn more about what it meant to be Pokemon and help others learn about it as well. Now all there was to look forward to for now was Ash's battle against Roxanne for his first Gym Badge in Hoenn.


	15. Ash vs Roxanne

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 15: Ash vs. Roxanne**

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail! Let's go!" Ash called. With this, Pikachu raised his tail up into the air as it started to glow white and slammed it into the large boulder in front of him and sliced it cleanly in half from top to bottom, with both halves collapsing onto the ground as Pikachu landed with the glow on his tail fading away. "All right, that's it!" Ash cheered with a bright smile showing on his face, with Pikachu turning around to see the successful attempt and a bright smile appearing on his face as well. "Now just remember your timing, okay, buddy?" Ash asked, turning his glance down to his little partner Pokemon. Pikachu turned around and looked up at Ash before nodding in agreement. The two were busy with training out in the field outside of the Pokemon Centre to make sure Pikachu would perfect Iron Tail before their Gym Battle against Roxanne; since Ash knew they didn't much time battle to go before they would head off into the battle, he wanted to make sure they got this move right before getting out there. While they were busy with that, May, Brock and Misty were sitting at a table that was just outside and they were watching Ash and Pikachu busy at work with training.

"Wow, look at Ash and Pikachu go, guys! It looks like they've been working on that Iron Tail." May commented, showing a smile of awe as she was watching them. Misty turned her head to May and nodded in agreement before darting her glance to watch Ash.

"Yeah, they sure are. At the rate they're going, I wouldn't too be surprised if they were able to get it down right before they head off for the Gym battle." Brock commented, as he turned his glance to watch them as well. While the others were talking amongst themselves, Ash was looking down at Pikachu ready to try it again.

"You ready to try it one more time, Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded in agreement, before turning around to face the rock in front of him with an expression of determination showing on his face; he had been training for quite a while to get this move on, and like Ash, he wanted all the training he had done to pay off. "All right then, Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash called. With this, Pikachu jumped up into the air with his tail starting to glow white and when he got close to the boulder, he turned around and slammed his tail against it, causing it to cut cleanly in half like the other practice target. And when Pikachu landed on the ground, he turned to find that his tail was still glowing white, and he and Ash quickly showed matching expressions of awe before a bright smile came to their faces as they realised what this meant. "All right, we did it! We managed to succeed with our Iron Tail training!" Ash cheered. Pikachu quickly turned around to face Ash and showed a bright smile before jumping up and down in excitement while the others watched with bright smiles, thrilled to see that Pikachu had finally learnt Iron Tail.

Sometime later, the group were all seated at the table together as they were eating rolls with hot dogs in them while their Pokemon were all sitting on the grass and were enjoying bowls of Pokemon food between them. "Well, I think it's safe to say that all of your training with Pikachu has finally paid off." Brock commented as the others were all still visibly impressed by the fact that Pikachu had finally succeeded in learning Iron Tail and was ready to go for the Gym Battle. Misty then showed an expression of concern, to which Brock turned his glance to her in surprise.

"But even with that, I think the battle against Roxanne is going to be pretty tough. After all, she is a Gym Leader using Rock Type Pokemon. Have you figured out what team you're going to use?" she asked. Ash turned to her and nodded with a confident smile.

"Yeah, I have. I was planning on using Treecko, but Treecko doesn't really know any Grass Types moves that might help out yet. So I'm using the three Pokemon I have available with me: Pikachu, Riolu and Larvitar. I think Roxanne will be using three Pokemon as well, so it should be a fair match on both sides." Ash explained. He and the others then turned their heads to May while she was busy munching on her hot dog with a bright smile on her face.

"What about you, May? What Pokemon are you planning on using in the battle?" Misty asked. May turned her head to the others with an expression of surprise hearing this, and then she removed her hot dog from her mouth before she turned her head away. "Oh, I think I'll pass on the Gym Battle." May replied. There was silence from the others for a few seconds before they all showed matching expressions of shock at May's response.

"What?! You're going to pass on the Gym Battle?" The three gasped in unison. May nodded in confirmation; she was going to have to say it, even though she had a feeling the three of them would react that way. After a few seconds, the three's shock quickly gave way to puzzlement as they started to wonder why May made this decision. "But... why would you want to do that after coming all this way?" Ash asked, staring in bewilderment as he wanted to know why May was passing up on the battle the most out of the three of them. May then showed a bright smile as she was more than happy to tell them why that was.

"It's because I've had a bit of time to think it over and I decided that... I want to become a Pokemon Coordinator, just like Janet and Chaz." May replied. The other three all dropped their mouths wide open in disbelief especially Ash; he had made the suggestion before, but May never seemed to want to stick with it since she didn't seem sure of what she wanted to do on her journey. So hearing this from her now of all times was quite a bit of a shock to the system. "But what do you want to do that now that you're here?" Misty asked.

"Well, I'll tell you the truth, guys. When I first started on this journey, I never even wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer. All I really wanted was to get out and travel the world and see different places, and being a Pokemon Trainer was the perfect excuse to do all that." May explained. The others all stared in surprise as they listened to this, since they had no idea that May didn't even want to be a Pokemon Trainer when she started out on this journey. "And if I'm being completely honest about this, I never even really liked Pokemon. But now after meeting everyone like Pikachu, Torchic, Togepi and catching the Pokemon I have with me now, I really love them! And it made me feel glad that I went through all of that and became a Trainer, because it helped me appreciate Pokemon." May continued. She then turned her glance to Ash with a bright smile before she continued, while he stared at her in surprise.

"Plus, I should really thank you too, Ash. If I hadn't met you when I started on this journey, I doubt I would have been able to get to where I am now with you, and Brock and Misty. You really helped me learn about battling, catching and befriending Pokemon and just what it means to be a Pokemon Trainer: to have a great adventure with the Pokemon you meet and connect them so you become friends and form stronger bonds with each other, so that you'll always make it through any obstacle, no matter how tough it is." May commented, her smile growing brighter while she spoke. Ash couldn't help himself smiling back and nodded; he was more than happy to help May during the time they have been together. She turned her glance to the others so she could get to the main point of what she was trying to say.

"You all remember how I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do while I was on this journey, right?" she asked. The others nodded in agreement, as she had expressed uncertainty on what she wanted her goal to be on quite a few occasions in the past. "Well, entering in the Rustboro Contest and winning it made me realise that being in Pokemon Contests was just the thing for me, and helping with running the Coordinator Class yesterday just made my decision that much easier to make. It was while I was helping out with that class and telling them about how I entered in the Rustboro Contest that I knew that being a Pokemon Coordinator was the perfect thing for me. Plus, all of the Pokemon that were in the Rustboro Contest were all being trained to be both strong and graceful. Those are the kinds of Pokemon I want to train; the kind that will not only be able to hold their own in a battle, but also be able to put on a performance that will blow people away at the same time." May explained. The others stared at her in silence for a few seconds before they started to show supportive smiles.

"Well, if that's what you want to do, then we'll be right behind you all the way, May!" Ash happily commented. "Yeah; we'll help you with whatever you need to become a great Pokemon Coordinator." Brock agreed. Misty nodded in agreement and turned her head to May, who turned her glance to her in turn. "In case you need any help with your training, just let us know and we'll give you all the help you can get!" Misty stated, with Togepi chirping in agreement in her arms. May could only show a bright smile of gratitude hearing that everyone would be here to help her out with her training.

"Thanks so much, you guys. I'll do my best to become the best Pokemon Coordinator I can be! I'll make sure I work hard with my training so me and my Pokemon are ready for anything!" May declared with a determined smile on her face. The others couldn't help themselves smiling brightly seeing how pumped May was.

"All right! That's the spirit, May!" Ash cheerfully praised. May showed a bright smile at this compliment and then turned her glance down to Torchic, Azurill, Ralts and Wurmple who all looked up at her to see her bright smile. "Are you all in, everyone?" May asked. The four Pokemon in question all showed bright smiles and started to cheer in unison; they were ready to do their best and help May, just like how they were sure she would do the same thing for them. As May let out a giggle seeing just how excited her Pokemon were, Misty then showed an expression of concern and turned her glance to Ash, as there was something she nearly completely forgot about.

"Ash, how's Riolu's arm feeling? I know it's been wearing that bandage around that arm to protect it, but I think you should check it to make sure Riolu will be ready to battle against Roxanne." Misty suggested. Ash showed an expression of alarm as he realised that he had nearly forgotten about that and nodded in agreement, so he got up out of his seat and walked over to Riolu, who was busy munching away on his Pokemon as he was sitting beside the others.

"Hey, Riolu?" Ash asked. Riolu turned his head up to Ash with an expression of surprise and stood up to face him, wondering what was up. "I think now might be a good time for us to take your bandage off so we can check your arm and see how it's feeling." Ash commented. Riolu listened in silence to this and then he nodded in agreement as he was starting to think the same thing as well. So Ash bent down and untied the bow that had been wrapped around the top of the bandage and slowly unrolled the bandage before removing to show that the blood on Riolu's arm had dried up and all that was a small cut on his arm where the scar used to be.

"It looks like it's mostly healed up. Is it alright if I check to see if it hurts?" Ash asked. Riolu nearly jumped from alarm at this suggestion and quickly took a step backwards while Ash watched in surprise before he showed a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Riolu. I won't hurt you; I just want to make sure your arm is good so you'll be able to battle against Roxanne when we get to the Gym." Ash explained. Riolu slowly stepped back over when he heard this and he could see the sincerity in Ash's eyes while he was making this statement and knowing that Ash wouldn't lie about something like that, Riolu slowly showed a smile and nodded in agreement.

"(Okay, I'll let you check. But... just be careful.)" Riolu replied. Ash nodded in understanding as he had a feeling that Riolu wanted him to be careful with this. So Ash gently placed a hand over Riolu's arm and slowly pressed down on it while Riolu kept his eyes closed and turned his head away. Once Ash did this a few times while applying a bit more pressure between each press, he turned his head to Riolu.

"Does that hurt?" Ash asked. Riolu slowly opened his eyes and turned his head back to find that he wasn't feeling any pain on his arm while it would have hurt a lot if they tried this earlier, and then he looked up at Ash and shook his head in response, to which Ash showed a bright smile. "That's great! I guess that means your arm's feeling better, Riolu. You'll be able to help in the Gym Battle!" Ash commented. Riolu showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement, as he was looking forward to helping in the battle as well.

Just then, a bright blue glow caught Riolu's eye and he slowly looked down to find that it was coming from the closed area between his arm and Ash's hand, and he noticed that Ash's hand was being surrounded by a bright blue glow of energy, to which Ash and Riolu both stared in awe. After a few seconds, the glow of energy slowly faded with Ash's hand returning to its natural skin colour. Ash then slowly removed his hand from Riolu's arm to reveal that the cut had faded away and Riolu's arm was completely healed up. Riolu looked at his arm in shock for a few seconds as soon as he noticed this, and then he slowly looked up at Ash who was staring in amazement. "(What...? H-how were you able to do that?)" Riolu quietly asked, turning his glance up to Ash as the latter stared in stunned silence.

"I... I really don't know. I'm not even sure how it happened..." Ash could only say in response, as the two were both left staring in awe trying to make sense of what had just happened. But before either of them could get the chance to say anything else, May looked down to notice this and showed a bright smile upon spotting the fact that Riolu's arm didn't have any cuts from where it used to be.

"Look at that! Riolu's arm is all better!" May happily commented. Brock and Misty both looked down at Riolu with May to see that she was right; the cut that used to be on Riolu's arm wasn't there anymore. In fact, it looked as though Riolu's wound had vanished completely while they weren't looking. Brock and Misty both stared in amazement for a few seconds before they showed bright smiles.

"Yeah, you're right, May! It looks like Riolu never had it in the first place." Brock commented. Misty didn't hesitate in jumping out of her seat and running over to look at Riolu's arm just to be on the safe side and when she had a close look, she could be that sure enough, the scar on Riolu's arm wasn't there anymore. "Wow, this is great! Now that means you can battle without worrying about if that arm will hurt you." Misty happily commented, with Togepi running over beside her while happily chirping in excitement at the sight. As the other Pokemon all turned their heads to notice this, they all started to smile from excitement, especially Ralts as she rushed over to Riolu before throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. "Now you'll be ready to go for the Gym battle." Misty happily added.

As everyone was gathering around Riolu to see if this was true, Ash could only turn his glance down at his head as he was trying to understand what it was he just did to get rid of Riolu's scar. _'I wonder if this is one of those Aura powers that Riolu was talking about while we were in Petalburg Woods, trying to get away from those Pokemon Hunters. If that's the case, how was I able to use it without even realising it?' _Ash thought to himself, showing an expression of puzzlement as he was trying to make sense of what was going on. But he figured that maybe now wasn't the right time to worry about; he and the others still had to get to the Rustboro City Gym, where he was sure that Roxanne would be waiting for them so they could have their Gym Battle. _'Maybe I'll have time to understand what all of this is about later; I'm sure everything will make sense to me eventually...' _Ash commented to himself, with a smile slowly coming to his face as he had a feeling he knew just what to do. With this, he turned his glance up before standing up to face the others. "Come on, guys, what are we waiting for? We have a Gym Battle to get to!" Ash stated, with a confident smile showing while his Pokemon cheered in excitement; they were really looking forward to this battle, especially Pikachu as he had Iron Tail now up and ready to go.

Meanwhile, in another area of the city, the Rocket Trio stepped out onto the street as they had enjoyed a full of doing nothing but relaxing in their room and enjoying a much-needed rest. As the three arrived out onto the street, Jessie stretched her arms up towards the sky as she let out a cheerful sigh. "It feels so good to have a goodnight's sleep after doing nothing but walking all day. I'm finally feeling refreshed!" Jessie commented, turning her head to James and Meowth as they both nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, same here, Jessie. I'm feeling up and ready to go for the day." Meowth agreed. "So what are we doing now?" James asked.

Jessie showed a confident smile and spun around so she was facing James and Meowth, as she had an idea of what they needed to do next now that they had a place to stay during their time in Rustboro City. "Well, the next thing we need to do is find a phone booth in this city so we can call the Boss and tell him that we're calling it quits on being members of Team Rocket. We may be out of the organisation by our own decision, but we need to make that decision official and cut our ties with them!" Jessie explained. James and Meowth were both listening to this in silence before they both showed confident smiles and nodded in agreement with her; it was time for them to start taking the first steps in making sure they would no longer have to associate themselves with being part of Team Rocket, and cutting their ties with the team sounded like the perfect way to get started. "So, James, where can we find the nearest phone booth from here?" Jessie asked, turning her glance to James since he had the way of making sure they knew exactly where they were in this city. James grabbed out his guidebook and opened it up to the page that showed the map of Rustboro City so the three of them could look down at it.

"All right, let's see. At the moment, we're here..." James pointed down at the hotel they were staying in to show where they were before slowly trailing his finger across the map before he came across a picture of a red circle that had a phone symbol in the middle that was in a small reclusive area of the city. "And the nearest phone booth from where we are is just right over there. It will take us at least an hour of walking if we get moving right away." James replied, turning his glance up to Jessie and Meowth as the three started to show matching bright smiles as they now knew where to go. However, what they didn't notice that was James actually holding the guidebook upside down, but they were too caught up in their excitement that they know where they needed to go to spot that.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on, shall we? Lead the way, James!" Jessie cheerfully replied, pointing forward for them to get a move on so they would be able to get this done as soon as possible. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement and so, without a moment to spare, the Rocket Trio started to make their way down the street to find where the phone booth was located.

Back with Ash and the others, they were standing in front of a building that looked like it was built with large stones around its structure, along with a smaller stone on the centre and a steel door leading inside the Gym. "So this is the Rustboro Gym..." Brock commented, looking up at the building with an impressed smile while May and Misty stared up in awe and Ash was showing a confident smile.

"This is Roxanne's Gym? It looks completely different from the Petalburg City Gym." May said, looking up at the building with her eyes wide in awe. "Well, I'm ready to go." Ash stated, showing a confident smile as he turned his head to his partner Pokemon, feeling ready for his Gym battle. "(Same here, Ash!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a determined smile showing on his face.

With this, the group walked over towards the entrance of the Gym, with the door slowly opening to let them in. "We're here!" Ash cheerfully commented. As the group stepped inside, they were met with the sight of the battle arena, which was surrounded by rocks of varying sizes covering the arena while a few workmen were sweeping the arena in preparation for the Gym battle. May and Misty both showed bright smiles of awe at the sight of the arena.

"Wow... look at that battle arena!" May gasped, her eyes slowly going wide in awe as she looked at the arena. "Yeah; it looks so cool, doesn't it?" Misty asked, nodding in agreement with her.

"It sure does. I can't imagine a better battle arena to have a Gym battle with Rock Pokemon." Brock commented. One of the workmen turned around to see the group there and showed a bright smile. "Good morning, everyone! You must be Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and May Maple from Petalburg City, am I right?" he asked. Ash and May both showed bright smiles and nodded in comfirmation. Once he was sure that he had the right people, the workman turned around before calling out. "Teacher, your challengers are here for their battle!"

The group all turned their glances up to see Roxanne standing on top of one of the front rows where the seats were, but her outfit looked a bit different from what she was wearing the other day; instead of the dark blue dress she wore while they were at the Trainer's School, she was wearing a grey dress with light grey outlines along the end which also had a white collar and short white sleeves and a big pink tie-like bow at the front and dark pink leggings with matching grey shoes on top. She hopped off the row and walked over to the group as they stared in surprise. "Ash and May, welcome! I have to admit that I'm glad you two are starting your Hoenn experience here in my own gym. This is quite an honour for me!" Roxanne commented, showing a smile of excitement.

"Thanks, Roxanne." Ash replied, nodding in agreement. May then took a few steps forward as there was something she wanted to say. "Except... there's something I need to tell you, Roxanne." May said. Roxanne showed an expression of surprise as she started to wonder what it was that May had to say. As the group sat down at one of the front rows, May explained to Roxanne her decision to train to become a Pokemon Coordinator, since entering the Rustboro Contest and helping out at the Trainer's School helped her realise that was what she wanted to do. As Roxanne listened to May, she showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.

"Every Trainer chooses different ways to interact with Pokemon. I hope you do well with your choice. Besides, I think being a Pokemon Coordinator would be just suited for you. You do your best during your training, May." Roxanne commented. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; she would remember to do just that. Once that was taken care of, Roxanne turned her head up to Ash. "Ash, are you all set to get started on our battle?" she asked.

"Yep, I'm ready to go!" Ash replied, nodding with a big smile. "(So am I!)" Pikachu added, before running over to jump back up onto Ash's shoulder as the group made their way down to the battle arena. As they arrived, they noticed that two of the workmen had set up a camera set behind the arena while another was acting as the referee, as he was holding a green flag in one hand and a red flag in the other.

"Teacher, everything's ready!" The workman called. Roxanne turned her head to him and nodded in understanding with a bright smile. "All right. Thanks!" she replied. The group couldn't help themselves watching in interest while Brock turned his glance to Roxanne.

"They call you Teacher?" Brock asked. Roxanne turned her head to the group and nodded in confirmation. "That's right. You see, they're all students from the Trainer's School; they come here to work at the Gym as Interns and in the process of assisting me, they also gain valuable experience as Trainers." Roxanne explained. The group couldn't help themselves showing smiles of intrigue as they were listening this, and then Roxanne turned her head to Ash as she wanted to ask something. "Say, Ash. Would you mind if I made a video tape of our battle?" she asked. Ash stared in puzzlement before slowly shaking his head in response.

"Uh... no. Why do you ask?" he asked in response.

"Thanks. I like to use the videos in class. I found that if Trainers are allowed to watch and study actual Gym Battles, it's a great way to learn." Roxanne explained. May couldn't help showing a big smile of awe seeing just how much her friend had learnt while she had become a Teacher, while Ash simply showed a confident smile. "That's fine with me! I'll be happy to show all your students the right way to battle and how to earn a Badge from your gym." Ash replied. "(Yep, me too!)" Pikachu agreed, nodding with a confident smile just like Ash's. The others could only stare at Ash in surprise seeing just how confident he felt that he was going to win this Gym Battle.

"Don't get carried away, Ash..." Misty worriedly commented with an expression of concern showing on her face. Brock and May simply showed bright smiles as they watched just how determined Ash was to win his first Gym Badge in Hoenn, and apparently Roxanne seemed to share their feelings on the matter because she showed a bright smile as she watched this. "He's confident, all right..." she commented; she was looking to seeing how this battle would go.

A little later, Ash and Roxanne stood on opposite ends of the arena, with the referees standing in the middle and the others watching from the front row seats in the back of the Gym. In particular, May was watching with a bright smile on her face. "I can't wait to see how this will turn out; this will be the first Gym battle I've ever watched!" May excitedly commented. As Brock and Misty were sitting together, they both turned their heads to May with expressions of surprise.

"Really? Your first Gym battle you've seen?" Misty asked. "Didn't you ever get to watch your dad battle at the Petalburg Gym, May?" Brock asked. May turned her head to the two and shook her head in response.

"No; Dad didn't want to mess with the challenger's concentration during the battle, so he never let me or Max watch him. It was always kind of a letdown, to be honest, since I really wanted to see how Dad would battle." May explained, letting out a sigh of dismay as she remembered how she and Max were never allowed to watch Norman when he was in a battle with another Trainer. But her dismay was quickly replaced with excitement as she turned her glance back to Brock and Misty as a smile showed on her face. "But now I finally have the chance to see a Gym battle for myself, and it's between Ash and Roxanne!" May happily commented. But as she turned her glance back to the battle arena, an expression of worry showed on her face. _'But that also leaves me with a dilemma: which side should I be cheering for? I really want Ash to win, but I don't want Roxanne to lose either.' _May thought to herself. After taking a few moments to think about she should do, she looked back up at the arena with a smile. _'I guess I really shouldn't worry about it; I'll just watch them and see them do their best.'_ May said to herself, nodding in confirmation as she was just going to watch the battle and see how the two would fare against one another. Just then, her thoughts were interrupted as the referee spoke up.

"The battle between Gym Leader Roxanne and her challenger, Ash Ketchum, will now begin! This will be an elimination match with each Trainer using three Pokemon. Only the challenge is allowed to substitute Pokemon during the match." The referee explained. Ash stared with an expression of determination while Roxanne showed a confident smiles, and May, Brock and Misty watched intently from their seats ready to see how the battle would start out.

"Let's begin. Geodude, I choose you!" Roxanne said, grabbing out one of her Pokeballs and twirling in a circle once before throwing it up into the air, causing it to open and release Geodude. As the group of three watched from their seats, May grabbed out her Pokedex to have a look at Geodude's Pokedex entry. "Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks." The Pokedex explained.

Once she had a look at the Pokedex, May could only show an expression of concern. "Oh, boy... it looks like a pretty strong Pokemon." May commented. Misty nodded in agreement before turning her glance to May while she did the same thing.

"Yeah, it really is. Geodude's hard body isn't just for defensive; it can also be really powerful when it uses attacks like Tackle and Mega Punch. Believe me, I should know; Brock actually used to have a Geodude on his team while we were travelling together. But he left it at the Pewter City Gym along with his other Pokemon so his brothers could train and run the Gym while he was away." Misty explained. May showed a smile of interest and nodded in understanding; she remembered Brock mentioning while they were on Route 104 that he had left his other Pokemon behind for his brothers to train. "Oh, that's right. I wonder how that's coming along." May commented, mostly to herself so Brock and Misty wouldn't hear her.

Back on the battle arena, Ash showed a confident smile as he was ready to start battling just like Roxanne. "I had a feeling that she'd use Geodude to start. Larvitar, I choose you!" Ash said, throwing one of his Pokeball out towards the arena which opened and released Larvitar who happily flailed his arms and legs in excitement before landing safely on the arena. "Are you ready, Larvitar?" Ask asked. Larvitar turned his head to Ash and nodded with a big smile.

Back up at the seats, May, Brock and Misty were watching and May quickly showed a bright smile when she saw who Ash was using as his first Pokemon. "So Ash is using Larvitar first. Looking at things, I think Ash has already got the advantage since Larvitar's a Ground Type." May happily commented. However, Brock and Misty quickly showed matching expressions of concern as there was something they hadn't taken to account until now that they were at the Gym.

"That's true, but there is one problem: Larvitar hasn't really had much battling experience and this will be its first Gym Battle." Brock replied. "Yeah, that's right. That's going to be a real problem if Ash isn't sure of what he's doing..." Misty nervously agreed. May turned her head to the two in surprise before showing a confident smile. "Oh, relax, guys. You're starting to worry too much about this. I'm sure Ash will be able to find a strategy that works for Larvitar." May commented, turning her attention back to the arena with Togepi chirping in agreement with her.

Down at the arena, the referee held both flags up in the air. "Begin the match!" he announced. With this, the battle was start to begin with Ash making the first move."All right, Larvitar, use Bite!" Ash called. With this, Larvitar started to run towards Geodude opening his mouth wide to bite down on it. However, Roxanne was quick to counter that.

"Geodude, stop the attack!" Roxanne said. With this, Geodude charged forward and started to shove against Larvitar with one of its hands, while Larvitar struggled to push back so he could get his chance to attack. Ash was watching this and he could only let out a sigh underneath his breath. "I guess regular attacks aren't going to work..." Ash commented to himself; watching this gave him the feeling that he should try to find a different strategy to battle against Geodude without much difficulty.

"Now, Ash, that was a pretty naive choice of attacks. You should know that Geodude's defensive power is too high to be hit by some physical attack like that." Roxanne commented, showing a confident smile at the fact that she was getting the upper hand right away. As Ash turned his glance to think about what he was going to do to take care of that issue, the others all watched from their seats in worry, with May briefly staring at awe at the fact that while Roxanne was a caring and understanding teacher at the Trainer's School, she was quite the serious battler when she needed to be.

"Oh boy, this isn't looking good already. You'd think that Ash would remember he can't always win by going head to head." Misty said. May showed an expression of concern while she was watching this; as much as she was rooting for both sides of the battle, she really wanted to see Ash come out on top in the end. "Ash... I hope you'll be alright out there. I'm sure you'll know exactly what to do." May quietly said to herself, showing nothing but concern in her eyes as she clasped her hands together and waiting to see what Ash would do to turn the odds in his favour again.

"Well, I guess it's my turn. Geodude, Mega Punch now!" Roxanne said. Geodude clenched its fist tightly, which started to form a bright white circle of energy around its fist, and started to charge towards Larvitar ready to punch him directly. However, as Geodude got within reaching distance towards Larvitar, that was when Ash had an idea. "Larvitar, use Dig to burrow underneath Geodude!" Ash called.

With this, Larvitar jumped up into his way and burrowed underground, narrowly avoiding being hit by Geodude's Mega Punch. As Geodude noticed that Lavitar was nowhere to be seen, both it and Roxanne started to look around in puzzlement as they were wondering where Larvitar went. The others watching in their seats seemed to share the same thoughts as they looked on at the arena wondering what kind of idea Ash had planned. After a few seconds, Ash showed a bright smile as he saw this as his chance. "Now, Larvitar!" he called. With this, the ground underneath Geodude started to rumble, which caused Geodude to look down in surprise and before it had a chance to react to what was going on, Larvitar popped up from underneath the ground and struck it directly, causing Geodude to be sent flying backwards and slamming onto the arena floor. "All right! Goob job, Larvitar!" Ash cheered, turning his glance down at Larvitar who started cheerfully jumping up and down and clapping in excitement at this success.

As the others were watching from the seats, they all stared in awe while May slowly showed a bright smile. "Wow, look at that, guys! Larvitar was able to take Geodude by surprise and hit it directly!" May exclaimed, clasping her hands together in excitement. "That's true, but Ash is still going to have to be careful if he's going to be able to win against Roxanne, considering how strong her Pokemon are defensively." Brock commented, nodding in agreement while showing an expression of concern at the same time. While this was happening, Roxanne couldn't help showing a bright smile and crossing her arms seeing that Ash was making a comeback.

"I have to admit that was a brilliant manoeuvrer, Ash; using Larvitar's Dig to catch me off guard when I wasn't expecting it. But..." Without any hesitance on its part, Geodude jumped back up feeling ready for more much to Ash and Larvitar's shock. "Geodude, Rollout!" Roxanne then called. Geodude curled out into a ball and started to roll across the arena and aiming straight towards Larvitar.

"Jump and dodge it!" Ash stated. With this, Larvitar leaped up into the air to avoid being barrelled over, but was met with a shock as Geodude jumped up into the air after him and uncurled from the ball to face Larvitar while he and Ash both stared in alarm. "Oh no!" Ash gasped, his eyes going wide in shock from the sight.

"Now, Geodude, use Mega Punch!" Roxanne called. Geodude then clenched its fist tightly with a glow of white energy surrounding its fist and started to aim its fist towards Larvitar. But without a moment to spare, Lavitar quickly ducked his head down to avoid getting hit before the two landed safely on opposite sides of the arena and started to stare at each other, ready for more. "Geodude, use Mega Punch again!" Roxanne said. Geodude clenched its fist once again with a glow of white energy surroundings its fist and started to charge towards Larvitar.

"Larvitar, use Screech!" Ash called. With this, Larvitar opened his mouth and let out a shriek so loud that bright blue soundwaves emanated from his mouth, causing Geodude to stop dead in its tracks and placed both its hands on the side of its head to drown out the scream. After a few seconds, the soundwaves faded from Lavitar's mouth while Geodude was lying on the arena floor, dazed as it was trying to recover from the scream ringing in its ears. Seeing this as his chance, Ash showed a bright smile as he was ready to take action. "Now, Larvitar, use Bite to grab onto Geodude's arm!" Ash said. With this, Larvitar rushed over towards Geodude and bit down on its arm using his teeth, causing Geodude to let out a cry of alarm and turn its glance to see what Larvitar was doing. "Larvitar, start spinning!" Ash added. Larvitar turned his glance to Ash and nodded, before he started to move in a circle spinning Geodude around in his mouth, slowly picking up speed as he was spinning.

While this was happening, the others watched from their seats in puzzlement. "What do you think Ash could be doing?" May asked. "I'm not sure, but it really looks he has an idea in mind." Brock replied, with Misty nodding in agreement with him. At the same time, Larvitar had really picked up speed as he was spinning in a circle rapidly like a top with Geodude in his grip. After a few more seconds of this passed, that was when Ash decided that now was the right time.

"Now, Larvitar!" Ash called. As soon as he heard this, Lartivar stopped spinning when he was facing the direction he needed in and released his jaw's grip on Geodude's arm, sending the Rock Pokemon flying up into the air while Roxanne watched in shock and crashing into the wall, leaving a crater-shaped dent in it before dropping out of the air and landing hard on the arena floor, knocked out. "No, Geodude!" Roxanne gasped, showing an expression of shock at this.

"Geodude is unable to battle. Larvitar wins!" The referee stated, raising the green flag in Ash's direction. When Ash saw this, he showed a bright smile of excitement. "All right! Great job, Larvitar!" Ash cheered as Larvitar ran over to him, showing a big smile and jumping up and down in excitement at the fact that he was able to win. From their seats, the others were all staring in amazement before May quickly showed a bright smile.

"Wow, that was amazing! Did you guys see that?" May excitedly asked, turning her head to Brock and Misty while the two were both staring in surprise wondering how Ash came up with that idea. "How did Ash come up with that plan on the spot?" Misty asked, showing an expression of puzzlement at this odd strategy. "I don't really know myself, but it looks like Ash has a few tricks up his sleeve. He'll need to be careful, though; this battle's far from over." Brock replied.

At the same time, Roxanne had returned Geodude into its Pokeball before she turned her glance up to Ash with a bright smile. "I have to say, Ash, it really looks like you've been training quite a bit with your Pokemon if you were able to take out my Geodude so effortlessly; most other Trainers I've faced have a much harder time." Roxanne commented, as she was feeling genuinely impressed by how Ash was battling so far. Ash simply showed a confident smile as he was feeling ready for more. "Thanks, Roxanne. But I'm just getting started!" Ash replied, with Pikachu nodding in agreement as he was watching the battle from standing beside Ash and he was waiting for when Ash needed him to step up to battle.

"Well, I guess that means the feeling's mutual. Onix, I choose you!" Roxanne commented, before throwing out her second Pokeball into the arena which opened and released Onix who let out a loud roar before slowly rolling out onto the battlefield, ready to begin. As Ash stared up at Onix in surprise, he then showed a bright smile before grabbing out Larvitar's Pokeball and returning him into it and then placed it back in his bag before grabbing out the Pokeball containing the other Pokemon he planned on using in this battle.

"I guess it's time for the real battle to get started! Riolu, I choose you!" Ash stated before throwing his Pokeball out into the arena, which opened and released Riolu who landed safely on the arena before turning his glance up to Onix who glared down at him. Roxanne showed an expression of surprise upon seeing Riolu there before she turned her glance to Ash with a smile of fascination showing on her face.

"I haven't seen a Pokemon like Riolu before. How were you able to find such an unusual Pokemon?" Roxanne asked, her curiosity peaking as she hadn't seen a Pokemon quite like Riolu.

"Oh, I found Riolu while I was making my way through Petalburg Woods. We've been doing quite a bit of training while we were on our way here and I actually planned on using him for this battle. Right, Riolu?" Ash replied, turning his head down to Riolu to hear what he had to say about this. Riolu looked up at Ash with a bright smile showing and nodded in agreement; he was looking forward to this smile just as much as Ash was, so the two both turned their attention back to the battle while Roxanne was watching them.

"Well then, Ash, let's see what this new Pokemon of yours is capable of in battling. You ready, Onix?" Roxanne asked, turning her head up to Onix who let out a loud roar of agreement that startled Ash and Riolu a bit before they directed their attention back to the arena, and Ash turned his glance down to Riolu with a determined smile showing on his face. "All right, Riolu, let's show Roxanne just what you can do!" Ash cheerfully encouraged. Riolu nodded in agreement before stepping out onto the arena with a determined expression showing on his face; he was ready to battle just as much as Ash was.

At the same time, the others were watching from their seats with bright smiles as they could see what Pokemon were being used for this second round. "Now it's Riolu vs. Onix! I can't wait to see how this will turn out!" May excitedly commented, with Brock and Misty nodded in agreement with her. Just then, one of May's Pokeballs opened by itself and the three turned their glances to see Ralts pop out to sit on May's lap. May stated in surprise for a few moments before a bright smile came to her face as she understood why Ralts had come out. "I guess you want to watch Riolu battle, right?" she asked. Ralts turned her head to May and nodded in confirmation. "Well then, I'll help you get a better view of the battle." May replied. With this, she picked Ralts up and lifted her up before placing her on top of her head so she could see the battle clearly.

"I think Ralts will be able to see everything that's going on from up there." Brock commented as he and Misty lifted their heads up to see Ralts sitting comfortably on top of May's head. Ralts cheerfully waved to the two before she turned her glance back to the arena, ready to watch Riolu go up against Onix in this Gym battle.

Meanwhile, out on the streets of Rustboro City, the Rocket Trio were walking down the street as they were trying to find their way to a phone booth. However, it seemed that they might have taken a few wrong turns on the road because it looked like they were further away from their destination than from where they started. It didn't really help matters that James had been placed in charge of leading the way because as he was looking down at the map to keep track of their trek, Jessie and Meowth were both looking around with confused expressions on their faces and they could see that this area of the city looked a bit unfamiliar to them. "Hey, Jimmy, are you sure you know which way we're going?" Meowth asked, as he and Jessie turned their glances to James so they could check to see if he was leading them the right way. James turned his head to the two with an expression of surprise before a bright smile came to his face and he nodded in confirmation.

"Of course I do! I did bring the map with us, didn't I? I'm sure we should be there in no time." James replied. Jessie and Meowth both turned their heads to each other with blank expressions, wondering which of them should let James know of what the problem was. However, it seemed that Jessie didn't need to give any seconds thoughts about the debate because she then walked over to James while he turned his glance and showed an expression of surprise as he noticed her glaring at him.

"Really now? Well, if you're so sure of what we are..." Jessie's expression of annoyance then turned to anger before she raised her head towards the sky and yelled "Then how did we end up all the way out here?!" James and Meowth both jumped from in alarm hearing how loudly Jessie was yelling before she turned her head back to James while he watched her in surprise. "It feels like we're on the other side of the city! Are you sure you're looking at that map the right way?" Jessie snapped. James showed an expression of puzzlement as he started to wonder what Jessie was talking about and he nodded before turning his glance back down to the map... only to realise that he was holding it the wrong way around.

"Oh! I thought something looked strange about the map. I've been holding it upside down the whole time. My mistake!" James commented, showing an innocent smile while Jessie and Meowth stared at him in disbelief before they dropped onto the ground, face first with their legs sticking up in the air while James watched in surprise. "Are you two okay?" he asked. After a few seconds, Jessie and Meowth both jumped up on their feet with matching expressions of irritation on their faces.

"Well then, why didn't you say so in the first place?!" Jessie snapped. "Because I didn't notice that I was holding it the wrong way until now!" James replied, nearly stepping back from alarm; he knew that it was never a good thing to be near Jessie when she lost her temper. Jessie stared at him in disbelief before she let out a sigh of annoyance while Meowth watched this before he started to jump up and down to try and get their attention with little success.

"So then, what are we doing just standing here? Let's get a move on!" Meowth stated. While all of this was happening, Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!"

Back inside the Rustboro Gym, the battle between Riolu and Onix had already gotten underway. "All right, Onix, use Iron Tail!" Roxanne called. Onix's tail started to glow white and it turned to face Riolu before throwing its tail towards his direction. Luckily, Ash was quick to take action seeing this. "Riolu, jump and dodge it!" Ash said. With this, Riolu jumped out of the way as Onix slammed its tail onto the arena and charged up a blue ball of energy between his paws before firing it at Onix, hitting it directly as he landed on the arena safely before standing upright with a confident smile. "All right, good job, Riolu!" Ash cheered while Riolu turned his head to him with a bright smile. As this was happening, the others could see this from their seats and they were all staring in surprise.

"Onix knows how to use Iron Tail just like Pikachu?" May asked. "Yeah; I guess Roxanne must have done quite a bit of training with her Pokemon in between challengers." Brock commented, nodding in agreement. As Ralts watched the battle from sitting on May's lap, an expression of worry came to her face; she had a feeling that Riolu was going to have a bit of trouble on his paws if he wasn't careful.

"Now, Riolu, Quick Attack!" Ash called. With this, Riolu started to charge towards Onix ready to strike it directly. However, it seemed that Roxanne wasn't going to let Riolu take Onix down so easily. "Onix, use Bind!" Roxanne said. As Riolu started to get close, Onix started to charge forward towards him, lunging its tail forward to grab him and wrap him around it. Ash nearly jumped in alarm when he saw this and an expression of worry came to his face as he looked down to think, wondering what he should do to handle this situation. But then he turned his glance up to notice that the arena was littered with rocks and then a bright smile came to his face as he started to have an idea, before turning his glance back to Riolu as he knew exactly what to do.

"Riolu, head for those rocks! I have an idea!" Ash called. Riolu turned his head to Ash in surprise and when he saw the confident smile on his Trainer's face, he simply nodded in understanding before turning his course towards the rocks and jumped up onto one of them, before turning around to face Onix as the large Pokemon lumbered towards him and showed an expression of determination. "Don't worry, Riolu; just follow my lead and we'll win this!" Ash said, showing a confident smile. Riolu turned his head to him and nodded in understanding before looking back to Onix who was now staring down at him.

"Well, this is going to become too easy for me. Onix, Iron Tail!" Roxanne commented, showing a confident smile as her certainty that she was going to win this battle started to grow. With this, Onix raised its tail as it started to glow white before lowering it towards Riolu at a great speed. However, it was there that Ash saw his chance to act.

"Now, Riolu! Jump!" Ash called. With this, Riolu jumped into the air and out of the way as Onix slammed its tail against the rock Riolu had been standing on, smashing into little pieces, before it noticed that Riolu wasn't standing there anymore. As Onix started to look around wondering where Riolu went, it didn't notice the little Aura Pokemon was jumping from rock to rock behind it, before it turned around to notice Riolu there and its tail started to glow white again and it went to slam its tail against Riolu again before Riolu jumped out of the air and charged towards Onix before raising both of his feet upwards and slammed against Onix directly, knocking it down onto the arena ground while he landed safely on his feet. However, Onix slowly got up and started to glare at Riolu while the little Pokemon stared up at it fearlessly with a determined expression on his face.

"Onix, Iron Tail!" Roxanne called. With this, Onix raised its tail as it started to glow white again before it started to lower it towards Riolu ready to attack him again. Luckily, Ash seemed as though he had prepared for that because he had a confident smile on his face.

"Jump, Riolu!" Ash called. Riolu leapt up into the air as Onix slammed its tail against the arena ground hard and then it showed an expression of alarm when it saw that Riolu wasn't there anymore, and then it looked up to see Riolu up in mid air glaring down at it. After a few seconds, Riolu landed on top of Onix's head while Onix started to shake its head to try and get Riolu off. However, that proved to be of little success as Riolu was grabbing hold of the rocky spine on top of Onix's head, so Onix started to slam its head down towards the arena ground in the effort to get Riolu off its head. However, it seemed that Ash was one step ahead of Roxanne. "Now, Riolu!" he called. With this, Riolu jumped off Onix's head and into the air, leaving Onix to slam its head against the arena ground directly. Once that was done and Riolu was now in mid-air, he charged up a blue ball of energy between his paws before firing it down at Onix, hitting it directly as a large cloud of dust was kicked up from the impact. As Riolu landed safely on the ground behind Onix, the cloud cleared up to reveal that Onix had been knocked out.

"Onix is unable to battle! Riolu is the winner!" The referee stated. Ash showed a bright smile and looked down as Riolu ran over to him. "All right! Great job, Riolu!" Ash cheered. Riolu showed a bright smile and raised a paw up in the air in victory, and then he could suddenly hear cheering and turned around to see Ralts waving to him from the seats while the others watched her with bright smiles.

"Looks like Ralts is really excited to see Riolu win." May commented. Without a moment to spare, Ralts jumped off May's lap and climbed out of the seats before running over to Riolu and throwing her arms around him tightly while he stared at her in surprise. "(Riolu, you did it! I never knew you would be able to battle so well, especially in a Gym Battle. That was amazing!)" Ralts exclaimed, showing a big smile on her face while she was gushing about Riolu's battling. Riolu stared at her in surprise for a few moments before he showed a bright smile, as he felt glad that Ralts had decided to come out to watch him battle. While this was happening, Roxanne had returned Onix into its Pokeball before she turned her glance up to Ash.

"Well, Ash, I have to admit that I'm impressed by your battling skills. But let's see how well you do against my third Pokemon; I've been saving the best for last. Nosepass, I choose you!" Roxanne said, before grabbing out her final Pokeball and throwing it up into the air, which opened and released a dark blue, angular Pokemon that had a bright red, triangular nose that resembled an arrow, arms and legs without any visible joints, with its arms resembling compass needles, small circular holes on its undersides and the sides of its head, and its eyes had the appearance of being closed while they were also covered by dark, somewhat mask-like markings. As Ash stared at the Pokemon in question with surprise, he grabbed out his Pokedex to find out what it had to say. "Nosepass, the Compass Pokémon. Nosepass has a nose that functions as an electromagnet and determines location by moving its nose about." The Pokedex explained. Ash turned his glance up from his Pokedex and showed a confident smile as he returned Riolu back into his Pokeball.

"We saved the best for last too, Roxanne. Ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning his glance down at his little partner Pokemon. Pikachu nodded in agreement with a confident smile before he rushed out onto the battle arena, his cheeks crackling with electricity while Roxanne showed an expression of surprise at his choice.

"You're planning on using an Electric Type Pokemon in a Rock Type Gym. You want to rethink that idea, Ash." Roxanne commented. However, it seemed that Ash wasn't fazed by this because his confident smile didn't seem to fade. "We've been training to get ready for that; just wait until you see us battle. Right, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning his head down to Pikachu as he stood fearlessly. "(That's right!)" Pikachu said, nodding in agreement with a confident smile on his face just like Ash.

Roxanne simply showed a bright smile seeing Ash's confidence and crossed her arms in response. "Very well, then. In light of your impressive confidence, I would be wrong to stand in the way of your attempt. So let's see what you've got, Ash Ketchum!" she replied. Ash nodded in agreement, as he was ready to show the results of his training this entire time for this battle.

"You got it! Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash called. With this, Pikachu jumped up into the air as his tail started to glow white and he lunged towards Nosepass before turning and slamming his tail against it, knocking Nosepass back a few miles across the battlefield. "All right, it worked!" Ash cheered, as he and Pikachu both showed smiles of delight that all of their training had finally paid off.

"Oh, I see now. Pikachu knows how to use Iron Tail just like Onix. Nosepass, time to put Ash and Pikachu in their place!" Roxanne stated, to which Nosepass started to charge back into the arena. Ash then showed an expression of determination, ready for more. "Pikachu, dodge and then use Iron Tail!" Ash called. Pikachu then jumped up into the air just as Nosepass charged towards the area he had been standing on, and his tail started to glow white before he turned around to slam his tail against Nosepass again. However, it seemed that Roxanne was prepared to counter this.

"Come on, Ash. Are we really that inexperienced that we'd fall for it twice? Nosepass, dodge and use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne said. With this, Nosepass moved out of the way of Pikachu's Iron Tail, leaving Pikachu to slam his tail against the ground, and then raised its foot up before slamming it down onto the ground, causing four large rock pillars to emerge and trap Pikachu inside. "Oh no, Pikachu!" Ash gasped, noticing that Pikachu was being crushed inside there. Fortunately, Ash quickly came up with an idea to handle this.

"Pikachu, use Thunder to get out of there!" Ash called. With this, sparks of electricity started to crackle on Pikachu's cheeks before a bright flash of yellow lit up the arena and the rock pillars were shattered around Pikachu while Roxanne watched with a confident smile on her face. "Nosepass, Sandstorm, now!" she said.

Nosepass's nose started to glow light blue and a large tornado of sand surrounded the arena, making things hard to see for not just Ash and Pikachu, but also May, Brock and Misty as they covered their faces so they wouldn't get any sand in their eyes. "Now what's Ash going to do? We can't see a thing!" Misty worriedly commented.

"Nosepass can't see Pikachu either, right?" May asked. "Wrong! Nosepass can use the electromagnet in its nose as a compass, remember?" Brock replied. Back down on the battle arena, Pikachu started to turn his head back and down while he was covering his face as he was trying to figure out where Nosepass was, unaware that Nosepass stood behind him through the tornado of sand before he quickly turned around to notice this. As the tornado of sand cleared up, Ash stared in alarm to see Nosepass standing over Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped. As Nosepass raised its foot to stomp on Pikachu, he turned his head to see this and quickly rushed out of the way which left Nosepass to slam its foot on the ground hard.

"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb again!" Roxanne called. "Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash added. As large pillars of rock emerged from the rocky ground, Pikachu started to run out of the way, jumping as pillars rose up from under his feet to get out of the way. And then as Nosepass started to slam itself against the arena ground to try and hit Pikachu, the electric mouse Pokemon leapt out of the way of each strike. From the seats, Misty showed an expression of puzzlement as she was trying to figure out what was going on.

"What do you think Ash is trying to do this time?" Misty asked. "I think he's trying to tire out Nosepass and after being spun around at that speed, it will have no idea where Pikachu is." Brock explained. "Well, I hope it works..." May commented showing an expression of concern; she really wanted to Ash to be the one to come out on top. Sure enough, Pikachu was quickly running in a circle around Nosepass while the latter was trying to keep up with him.

"Nosepass, you can't look for Pikachu with your eyes. You've got to try and lock in on Pikachu's electricity." Roxanne stated. Nosepass's nose started to glow light blue as it started to try and lock in on Pikachu, unaware that the electric mouse was now up in the air behind it. "Now, Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash called. With this, Pikachu's tail started to glow white and he lunged down towards Nosepass before slamming his tail against it, sending Nosepass being knocked back against the arena ground while he landed safely on all four paws. As Roxanne watched, she could only show an impressed smile.

"My, my, I'm impressed. I've never seen an Electric Pokemon last this long. But now, it's over! Nosepass, Thunder Wave!" Roxanne stated. With this, Nosepass jumped up into the air while Ash and Pikachu watched in disbelief; for a Pokemon that heavy, Nosepass could really jump up high. Nosepass's nose then started to glow white with sparks of electricity crackling around it before releasing a strong blast of energy, which Pikachu quickly ran out of the way of as it struck the ground he had been standing at and creating a large hole in the arena. As the cloud of dust created by the blast cleared up, it was clear to see that Pikachu was starting to get worn down while Nosepass was still standing without any visible exhaustion. As this was happening, Ash could only stare in puzzlement as there was something he was wondering about. "How can a Rock Pokemon use Thunder Wave?" he asked.

"It's always good to have a surprise attack handy. Agreed? Of course, I learnt that strategy from you, Ash." Roxanne replied. Ash stared in surprise for a few moments before he looked down at Pikachu. "You okay to keep going, Pikachu?" he asked. Pikachu nodded in agreement, with an expression of determination on his face as sparks of electricity crawled up his tail.

"What?" Roxanne asked, showing an expression of confusion as she started to wonder how Pikachu was still raring to do in spite of what had happened in the battle so far. As the others were all watching this from their seats, they saw Ash turn his glance up to Roxanne with a confident smile on his face.

"Roxanne, the tougher the battle, that just wins the harder we fight. We're just getting warmed up!" Ash explained. The others could only stare in surprise with May slowly showing a smile of awe as she saw just how determined Ash to win this battle.

"I wonder where Ash gets all of his confidence from..." May commented. "Yeah, especially since he has nothing to base it on." Brock agreed, slowly nodding in agreement with May. Misty could only show an expression of concern; from the way this battle was going, it seemed that Ash was going to have to rely on more than Iron Tail to win against Roxanne.

As Pikachu glared fearlessly at Nosepass, Ash noticed the sparks of electricity crackling up Pikachu's tail and stared in surprise for a few moments before a bright smile came to his face as he had an idea. "Pikachu, charge in towards Nosepass again!" Ash called. With this, Pikachu started to run towards Nosepass while Roxanne watched in surprise before she slowly shook her head.

"Don't tell me, Iron Tail again? He can't be relying on that. Use Zap Cannon, Nosepass!" Roxanne said. Nosepass's nose started to glow white and sparks of electricity surrounding it before it released a white and yellow blast of electric energy towards Pikachu. However, Pikachu jumped up into the air as the blast of energy struck him, but the energy blast didn't seem to affect him as he absorbed the electricity while not only Roxanne, but the others watching from their seats stared in amazement.

"Now charge towards Nosepass!" Ash said. With this, Pikachu dropped from the air as he sent the energy blast back towards Nosepass, hitting it directly and sent it taking a few steps backwards as sparks of electricity covered its body while Pikachu landed safely on the ground and glared up at it. "Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne said. However, Nosepass didn't seem to move an inch; it was completely paralysed, much to Roxanne's disbelief.

"Look at that, guys. Nosepass is completely paralysed!" May gasped as she and the others stared in amazement. "Yeah; Pikachu used the electricity from Zap Cannon to stop Nosepass in its tracks!" Misty said, nodding in agreement while Togepi showed a big smile of joy.

Once that was taken care of, Ash was ready to finish this battle off. "Now, Pikachu, hit Nosepass with all the power you've got! Iron Tail, go!" Ash stated. With this, Pikachu charged towards Nosepass with his tail glowing white and jumped into the air, before diving down towards Nosepass and slamming his tail directly against it, leaving Roxanne to stare in shock as Pikachu landed safely behind Nosepass. After a few seconds, Nosepass slowly toppled over and landed on the ground on its back, knocked out. "Nosepass is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Victory of this match goes to Ash Ketchum!" The referee stared. Ash stared in awe for a few seconds before a big smile showed on his face.

"Yeah, we did it, Pikachu!" Ash cheered. Pikachu turned around to face Ash and showed a bright smile before running over to him and jumping up into his arms in excitement. Roxanne stared in shock for a few seconds before a smile came to her face seeing just how thrilled Ash was to have won against her, and how she had the honour of battling against him. From the seats, Brock and Misty stared in disbelief while May showed a bright smile and stood up from her seat while they watched her in surprise.

"Wow, that was amazing! Did you guys see that? Ash won!" May cheered, before she made her way down the stairs and ran over to see the two, to which Ash and Roxanne turned their heads to see her running over. "You two were so amazing out there! I had a really hard time trying to decide which side I should root for, because you were both really strong." May cheerfully commented. Ash couldn't help showing a bright smile at this as he turned to May.

"Thanks, May. I guess all the training we did on the way here really paid off, huh, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning his head to Pikachu. "(That's right!)" Pikachu replied, happily nodded in agreement.

That evening, the group were standing outside the Gym as Roxanne was talking to Ash. "You know, Ash, I've never seen a better team than you and your Pikachu. And I really learnt a lot competing against you today. Thanks for a great battle." Roxanne explained. Ash showed a nervous smile as he placed his hand behind his head. "Yeah; we really learnt a lot from you too." Ash replied.

"I'm sure that all of my students were very impressed by your diligence and fighting spirit, Ash. I'm happy to present you as a worthy Trainer of this Stone Badge." Roxanne stated, showing a bright smile as she held out a badge sitting in her open hand; it was a gold colour and was shaped with two triangle-like arrows pointing in opposite directions and they were connected by a rectangle shape in the middle leading between them. Ash showed a bright smile before he picked the badge up and turned his glance up to Roxanne.

"Thanks so much, Roxanne." Ash said. He then turned to face the others with his smile growing brighter before he held the badge up for them to see. "All right! I won the Stone Badge!" Ash cheered, with Pikachu happily cheering along with him as Ash turned his glance to his partner. As the others were all brightly smiling at him, May looked up in surprise to see Roxanne walking over to her.

"May? I wish you the best of luck with your training as a Pokemon Coordinator. I think you'll make a wonderful Coordinator, and it was great getting the chance to see you again. I'll make sure to keep in touch with you sometime so you can tell me about the progress you've made." Roxanne commented. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, Roxanne. And don't worry; I'll make sure I work hard in my training!" May replied, an expression of determination coming to her face as she was looking forward to that as much as Roxanne was.

Back in the city, the Rocket Trio were sitting on the ground trying to catch their breath; they had been walking around the city all day trying to find a phone booth and they still hadn't had much luck. "James... do you have any clue... of where we are now?" Jessie asked, as she was trying to catch her breath from walking all day. As James had collapsed on the ground on his back, he slowly sat up with an expression of dismay.

"I hate to say it, but no. I stopped keeping track of where we were a few hours ago." James replied. Jessie and Meowth both let out sighs of dismay hearing this. "A whole lot of good that does us... now we're lost and exhausted..." Meowth commented. Jessie let out a growl of irritation before she jumped up on her feet and marched over to James with an expression of anger on her face while he nearly jumped from alarm seeing how upset she was.

"James, if we don't find this phone booth in the next few minutes, this will be the last time I trust you with giving us directions! We've been wandering around in this city for hours blind as Zubat, and even they would have an easier time getting around than we have!" Jessie snapped. While this was happening, Meowth turned to his head to the side and an expression of surprise crossed his face before he showed a bright smile and turned his head to the other two.

"Hey, you two, look at that!" Meowth said. Jessie and James both turned their heads in the direction Meowth was pointing at, and they quickly showed bright smiles when they saw what Meowth had found: there just ahead of them was the phone booth they had been looking for all day. "There it is! We finally found it!" Meowth cheered. The Rocket Trio quickly jumped up onto their feet and rushed over to the phone booth, with Jessie opening the door to let all of them in, and this time they didn't feel cramped in.

"Thanks goodness, we can all fit this time." Jessie commented, showing a smile of relief; the phone booth was quite a big bigger in size from the last one they were in, so that meant all of three of them could fit into it without any problem. "Does anyone have any spare change on them?" Jessie asked, turning her head to the two. James reached into one of his pants' pocket and pulled out two silver coins before handing them to Jessie, who placed them into the coin slot on the side of the phone before she started to dial Giovanni's number while James showed an expression of concern.

"How are we going to tell him about us leaving?" he asked. Jessie simply turned her head to him, showing a confident smile as she seemed to know exactly what to do. "Just leave everything to me; I'll do the talking." Jessie replied, winking at James before turning her head back to the phone. After a few seconds of waiting, Jessie decided that she should speak up. "Hello?" she asked. Just then, another voice came over the other line much to the three's surprise.

"Is that you three again? What do you want?" The voice asked in a firm tone of voice: the Rocket Trio could tell that it was Giovanni. "I'm assuming that your operations in the Hoenn Region so far have been a success?" Giovanni asked. The Rocket Trio looked at each other in surprise before they started to feel themselves tense up, as they weren't sure of whether or not they should tell him.

"Well, actually..." Jessie started nervously, but the expression on her face turned firm as she knew that she had to the one to say it. "There's something more important we have to tell you. We've been thinking over this decision as a team and we decided that now would the right time for you to hear about this." Jessie explained. James and Meowth were both staring in surprise, seeing just how unfazed Jessie was feeling while she was speaking.

"And what would that be?" Giovanni asked in response. Jessie silently took a deep breath as she would be able to stay calm while she was saying this, before she finally spoke up.

"We've decided that..." Jessie was silent for a few moments before she continued. "We're calling it quits on being members of Team Rocket! We've been on this team for at least a few years and we haven't been getting anywhere with any job we're assigned for. So we decided that we should do something about this before we got too in over our heads and..." As Jessie was about to continue, she was met with a surprise when she heard a dial on her end of the line. "Hello? Hello? Are you still there?" she asked. When she didn't receive any response after a few more seconds, she placed the phone back in its place before she turned to James and Meowth.

"So, how did it go?" James asked. Jessie showed an expression of annoyance and crossed her arms while the other two watched. "He hung up on us while I was telling him about our reason for leaving. I guess he must be glad that we're finally out of there." Jessie replied. With this, the three slowly stepped out of the phone booth to take a few moments to register the fact that they had actually made the decision to leave Team Rocket for good. Once a few minutes passed, the three turned their heads to each other. "Do you two feel like... something's different after just doing that? I feel like I've had a weight that I don't even know I was carrying lifted off my shoulders." Jessie commented, showing an expression of surprise.

"Yeah, same here, Jess." Meowth said, nodding in agreement. "I had a feeling I wasn't the only one who felt the same way." James agreed. Once the three had a few more minutes to let this sink in, they all showed smiles of delight and jumped up in excitement.

"We're finally out! I didn't think I'd actually see the day this would happen." Jessie happily commented. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, but then James showed an expression of worry as there was something he had just realised. "But... what are we going to do now that we've made our decision official?" he asked. Jessie simply showed a confident smile as she turned her head back to the two.

"It's simple: when our last pay check comes in tomorrow morning, we're going to get a change of wardrobe and then finally find the twerps in this city. I don't know about you, but it'll feel so good to finally get out of this uniform!" Jessie replied, looking down at her Rocket uniform; she was looking forward to wearing something else besides that. "Now come on, we need to find our way back to our hotel; we've been looking around all day, so it'll feel nice to be able to get back to our room." Jessie commented. James and Meowth both showed bright smiles and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, same here!" Meowth agreed. "I could use a good sleep from being out here this whole day." James added. With this, the Rocket Trio started to make their way back to the hotel they were staying at, feeling glad that they were able to tell Giovanni that they were out of Team Rocket, which meant that they were now able to find new things to do and get help from Ash and the others to help them turn themselves around for good.


	16. From Friends to Lovers

**Friends to Lovers**

**Chapter 16: From Friends to Lovers**

On the outskirts of Rustboro City, the sun slowly rose over the horizon painting the sky a bright orange and light blue colour and shedding sunlight over the city. At the Pokemon Centre, the sunlight lit up the room that Ash, May, Brock and Misty were staying with the four sharing two bunk beds; Ash and May were sleeping in one bunk bed while Brock and Misty were in the other. The first of the four to wake up was May as her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head up to see the sunlight poking through the curtains in the centre of the room. After taking a few seconds to make sure she was fully awake, May climbed out of the bottom bunk that she had been sleeping in and walked over to the centre of the room to pull the curtains back, allowing the room to be fully illuminated with sunlight. She then opened the glass door to step out onto the balcony and placed her arms on the guard rails, with a bright smile showing on her face as she watched the early morning sun rise, letting out a content sigh to herself with a bright smile on her face; it looked as though it was going to be another beautiful day today. After a few seconds, May turned around to notice that Brock and Misty were starting to wake up as well and started to walk back inside. "Good morning, guys! Did you have a nice sleep?" May cheerfully asked. Brock sat up from his bunk and nodded while Misty was having a look down at Togepi, who had made herself comfortable and was sleeping peacefully beside Misty. After a few seconds, Togepi let out a yawn and stretched her arms up in the air before sitting up, rubbing her eyes while Misty was looking down at her with a bright smile.

"Good morning, Togepi." Misty greeted. Togepi quickly showed a big smile and let out a chirp of excitement before jumping up on her feet and waddling over to Misty, who reached down and picked her up in her arms. "It looks like someone was out like a light last night." Misty commented, keeping her glance down at her little Pokemon as the two smiled brightly at each other, with Togepi happily chirping while Misty let out a cheerful giggle to herself seeing her so cheerful.

May watched as the group seemed to be ready to go before she clapped her hands together with a smile of excitement showing on her face. "All right then, guys. Who's up for spending the day in Rustboro City?" she asked. It didn't take very long for her to get a response as Misty stood up and nodded in agreement once she was out of her bunk and Brock was climbing down the ladder of the bunk he had been sleeping in before arriving on the floor.

"That sounds like a great idea to me!" Misty commented, with Togepi chirping in agreement along with her. "Yeah, I like that idea too. That gives me a great opportunity to restock some of our supplies." Brock agreed, showing a bright smile as he nodded. May couldn't help herself feeling like she was about to burst from excitement; after helping out at the Trainer's School and watching Ash's Gym battle against Roxanne, she had a feeling that this would be a great opportunity to use the day to just relax and enjoy the sights that Rustboro City had to offer.

"That's great to hear! What do you think, Ash?" May asked, turning around to Ash and looking up to see him at the top bunk. She knew that she was looking forward to going out to Rustboro City for a special reason; Ash had promised her that after his battle with Roxanne, he would spend the day with her out in the city. Now that he had won his Gym Badge, May was certain that he would keep true to that promise he made her. However, he didn't receive any response from him after a few seconds and an expression of puzzlement showed on her face. "Uh... Ash? Ash, can you hear me?" May asked. When she still didn't receive an answer, she climbed the ladder leading up to Ash's bunk so she could figure out what the problem was and she was met with the sight of him still sound asleep with Pikachu sleeping right beside him. As soon as she saw this, May let out a sigh of dismay. "I should have seen this coming..." May commented to herself, slowly shaking her head. But as she turned her glance back up to see just out of it he seemed to be, a sneaky smile crossed her face as she had an idea of how to get him up. So with that, she climbed up onto his bunk and crawled along the blanket-covered mattress, trying to make sure that he didn't hear her, until she was sitting beside him on his right and she looked down at him seeing how peaceful he looked; it almost made her not want to wake him up. But seeing as they didn't have all morning to wait for him, that left her with little choice.

"All right, Ash, I guess it's time to get you up." May commented, cracking her fingers back to prepare herself for this. Once that was done, May started to push Ash over to the edge of the bunk, with him starting to open his eyes as he started to register what was going on before he dropped off, sending him dropping down onto the floor and landing with a loud thud, which caused Brock and Misty to nearly jump from surprise and turn their glances to see what was going and Pikachu's ears to perk up as he heard this, which prompted him to sit up and open his eyes before he noticed that Ash wasn't in the bunk anymore and then he looked down to see Ash lying on the floor while May made her way down the ladder to check on him, with Pikachu quickly following suit behind her with an expression of worry on his face.

"(Ash, are you okay?)" Pikachu asked as he looked down at his friend in worry while May bent down to make sure Ash was alright as well. Luckily, after a few seconds passed, Ash slowly sat up and started to rub his head before he looked down at his little partner Pokemon with a bright smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Pikachu. Don't worry." Ash replied. As soon as Pikachu heard this, he let out a sigh of relief before showing a bright smile. Ash then looked up at his bunk in puzzlement as he started to wonder how he ended up on the floor from there. "I guess I must have rolled off without realising it..." Ash commented to himself. However, he was met with the sound of giggling from behind him and turned his head to see May covering her mouth as she had a big smile on her face and she was trying to stifle her giggles before she removed her hand from her mouth so she could speak.

"Actually, that would be my doing. It was the only way I could think of that I'd be able to get you up in the morning, sleepy head." May cheekily commented. She then started to laugh like silly while Ash stared at her in disbelief before he showed a bright smile and stood upright while she covered her mouth to try and hold in her laughter, but she didn't seem to be having much success.

"Well, it's not exactly what I would have wanted, but I guess you have to do what you think is necessary. Thanks for that, May. I don't think I would have been able to get up by myself." Ash commented, with Pikachu jumping up onto his shoulder and prompting to turn his glance to notice him there before he looked back at May. May simply showed a bright smile and nodded, showing that she was more than happy to help Ash out.

"I was just suggesting to Brock and Misty that we should spend the day in Rustboro and they agreed with it. What do you think, Ash? You do remember that there is something you said you'd do with me, right? Or did you already forget about that?" May asked, crossing her arms as a cheeky expression showed on her face. Ash initially showed an expression of confusion as he seemed to have no idea of what May was talking about, before he remembered that he had promised her that he would spend the day with her in the city after his Gym battle, and as far as he knew, promises were made to be kept. Once he remembered this, a bright smile came to his face and he shook his head in response.

"Don't worry, May. I didn't forget about what I promised you. But first, what do you say to some breakfast after we get dressed?" Ash suggested. May showed a smile of delight once she heard that Ash remembered that he agreed to her offer before she nodded in agreement; some breakfast sounded like a good idea to her.

A little later, the group were sitting at one of the tables outside the Pokemon Centre with the exception of Brock; they had helped themselves to getting their serves at a buffet in the building kitchen. Ash had grabbed a serve of bacon and fried eggs, May was enjoying a serve of pancake with Oran Berry sauce on top and Misty was having two pieces of toast that had Pecha Berry jam on top while their Pokemon were enjoying bowls of Pokemon food as they sat on the grass beside the table. As May was munching on a serve of her breakfast, she showed a bright smile as she was indulging in the taste of the Oran Berry sauce; it felt very flavoursome on her taste buds. "Mmmm, this is delicious! The Pokemon Centres have a lot of great food choices, don't they?" May asked, turning her glance to Misty.

Misty looked up at May and nodded in agreement with a big smile. "Yeah, they sure do. It's like they have so many different choices for every important meal of the day!" Misty happily commented. She then looked down at Togepi who was sitting on the table and enjoying her bowl of Pokemon food, chewing on a piece while Misty watched her. "How is it, Togepi? Do you like your breakfast?" she asked. Togepi turned her head to Misty and nodded in agreement with a big smile on her face, which prompted Misty to show a bright smile back. As May watched the two, she leaned forward to Togepi.

"Togepi, would you like to try my breakfast?" May asked. Togepi turned her head to May before jumping up on her feet and walking over to her to see what she was eating, while May cut a small piece of her pancakes for her to give it a try. "It's pancakes with Oran Berry sauce on top. They're really delicious!" May explained, pushing the small piece in front to Togepi, which had Oran Berry sauce on top. Togepi picked up the piece and placed it in her mouth before she started to chew on it while May watched. "How is it? Is it good?" she asked. After a few seconds, Togepi swallowed the piece and then a bright smile came to her face and she started to jump up and down in joy; it was very safe to say that she really liked it.

While this was happening, Ash was watching the two with a bright smile; he hadn't taken a bite out of his breakfast yet as he simply had his glance on May. He was watching her as she was sharing her breakfast with Togepi, who seemed to enjoy it if the way she was jumping up and down happily with a big smile was much to go by, and May couldn't help herself laughing watching how happy Togepi was. Ash felt his smile grow brighter as he listened to May's laughing; every sound of her voice felt like music to his ears. After a few seconds, May turned her head to see Ash watching her and she showed an expression of surprise before a bright smile came to her face and she waved to him. "Hey, Ash!" May cheerfully stated.

Ash nearly jumped from surprise as he was snapped out of his daze upon hearing May and noticed her waving to him, before he quickly showed a smile and waved back to her. May showed a bright smile in his direction before she turned her attention back to Togepi so she could continue sharing her breakfast with the little Pokemon. Once he saw that she wasn't looking at him anymore, Ash let out a quiet sigh to himself and turned his glance down to think to himself. Ever since he learnt about May's feelings for him during her talk with Natalie at the Flower Shop, he had been seeing her in a different light from before; he loved having her walk beside him, his heart always felt like it was on fire whenever he found himself looking at her and he generally just enjoyed being with her. It also helped that he had finally realised that he was in love with her, just like she was with him. It was very safe to say that Ash didn't think of May as just a friend anymore, he saw her... as someone more special to him.

'_It's still hard to believe that I missed it all this time. I mean, it was clear as day from the start that May liked me, but I never noticed anything until learning about it from her. And now all I can think about... is her. Now that we're spending the day together in the city, this gives me a perfect opportunity to tell her the truth; tell her that I share her feelings for me. But... how do I do that? I don't really know about what it means to have a girlfriend.' _Ash thought to himself, an expression of uncertainty crossing his face as he was trying to figure out how he should go about telling May about his feelings. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard May speak up and he turned his glance up to hear what she was saying.

"Say, where's Brock? I haven't seen him come to join us since we went to get breakfast." May commented, showing an expression of puzzlement as she was starting to wonder where Brock could be. In response, Misty pointed up to where their room was.

"He's looking over what supplies we need to get so he knows what to buy while we're in the city." Misty replied. As Ash was listening to this, he looked up to where their room was at the second floor and then a bright smile came to his face as he had an idea.

'_That's it! Maybe I'll ask Brock for advice about it; he'll know what to do. After all, he does know how to try and get a girl's attention, even if it's not always successful for him.' _Ash thought to himself. With this, he quickly got to work with finishing the rest of his breakfast before he stood up from his chair and started to walk over to the Pokemon Centre to find Brock. While he was walking, Pikachu looked up to notice him and quickly rushed over to catch up with him, jumping up onto his shoulder to which Ash turned his glance in surprise to notice before he showed a bright smile. "Hey, Pikachu. I'm going to ask for Brock's help about something important. Did you want to come too?" Ash asked.

"(Yeah, I did.)" Pikachu replied, nodding in agreement; he had a feeling he knew exactly what it was Ash wanted to talk about, even if he wasn't directly saying what it was just yet. When Ash heard this reply, he nodded in understanding as he figured that Pikachu would want to hear about this as well. It didn't take him long to arrive back in the Pokemon Centre and head up the staircase before he started to walk over to their room, with the number sixteen on its door.

Inside the room, Brock was sitting on one of the bunk beds and he was going over a list of what they needed to buy in Rustboro City. While he was busy with it, he suddenly heard a knock on the door and turned his glance up in surprise before placing the checklist down on the bed beside him and then he stood up and walked over to the door before opening to see Ash standing there. "Oh, hey, Ash. What's up?" Brock asked, showing a smile of surprise.

Ash showed a bright smile when he noticed that Brock wasn't busy and he stepped into the room while Brock watched him enter. "Brock, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something important. It's something that I've been thinking about for a while now." Ash said. As Brock closed the door from behind them, he showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.

"Oh, sure thing! You know you can always come to me for advice." Brock replied. Ash showed a bright smile upon hearing this, as that meant Brock was willing to help him out with his situation. So with this, the two walked over to the bunk bed where Brock was making his checklist and sat down, with silence passing for a few seconds before Brock spoke up. "So Ash, what have you got on your mind at the moment? Thinking about where the next Gym is going to be?" Brock asked. After a few seconds from his part, Ash turned his head to Brock with a bright smile.

"This might come as a surprise to you, Brock, but... it's actually not about that. This is something more personal." Ash replied. Brock showed an expression of surprise when he heard this; if Ash didn't have his mind set on finding the next Gym as soon as possible, that meant this had to be something more serious. So he simply nodded in understanding as he wanted to know just what Ash was thinking about. "I've actually been thinking... about May." Ash stared. Once this came out, Brock and Pikachu could only stare in alarm while Ash simply showed a bright smile and nodded in confirmation. "I know, it does sound crazy to believe." Ash commented, noticing their expressions of shock. He then stood up from the bed before walking over to the glass door and sliding it open to head out onto the balcony while Brock and Pikachu followed behind him. "But I couldn't be more truthful about this if I tried." he then added.

He then looked down to see May watching their Pokemon play together before she picked Larvitar up, who promptly froze up in her arms much to her surprise. "I actually didn't think it would happen myself, but during the time we've been travelling together, I've started to see May in a different light than I thought possible. I find myself always thinking about her and it's hard for me to think about anything else but her, I never get enough of seeing her smile and listening to her voice and there are times where I can never take my eyes off her and my heart feels like it's on fire just looking at her." Ash explained, a bright smile slowly showing on his face and his cheeks starting to turn bright red while he was talking. Brock and Pikachu both looked at each other with matching expressions of surprise before they looked back at Ash, wondering if this meant what they thought it meant. Sure enough, their wondering about it was confirmed as Ash continued. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I've come to realise that..." Ash was silent for a few moments before he turned to face the two with a bright smile as he finished his sentence. "I don't just like May as a friend. I've realised that... I'm in love with her."

As soon as this was heard, there was nothing but stunned silence from Brock and Pikachu as they were trying to register what they had just heard: Ash Ketchum, the one boy that they believed would never understand the concept of love even if it was right under his nose, was in love with May Maple. Once there was time for to understand what was going on here, Brock could only stare in shock while Pikachu slowly showed a big smile and started to jump up and down in excitement. "(Yes, yes, yes, yes! It happened! It's finally happened!)" he cheered, before he jumped up into Ash's arms while the latter watched him in surprise before he showed a bright smile seeing just how thrilled his partner was.

"I guess you've been waiting for this for quite a while, huh, Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu cheerfully nodded in agreement; he had been waiting for the day that Ash would return May's feelings ever since he figured out that she was in love with Ash and now it was finally here; all of his waiting had finally paid off. Ash then turned his glance to Brock and showed an expression of concern noticing him staring in stunned silence. "Uh... are you okay, Brock?" he asked. As soon as Brock realised that Ash was talking to him, he shook his head rapidly to snap himself out of it before showing a bright smile.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Hey, that's great, Ash! It looks like you finally figured it out by yourself." Brock commented. Ash nodded in agreement, but then an expression of worry came to his face much to both Brock and Pikachu's surprise. "Ash? What's wrong?" Brock asked. Ash let out a sigh before turning his glance up to Brock.

"That's true, and I know I should be as happy about this as you guys are, but... there's something I'm not sure about." Ash replied. Brock showed an expression of surprise at this, wondering that it could be that Ash was feeling worried about. He then watched as Ash walked back out onto the balcony and looked down at May, noticing her happily talking to her Pokemon with a bright smile, though he couldn't tell what exactly she was saying. "I promised May I'd spend the day with her in the city after my Gym battle and I'm hoping to tell her the truth about my feelings during our day together, but... I really don't know what I should say. How will I know what to say to her?" Ash asked, feeling uncertain of how he should tell May about his feelings while Brock walked over carrying Pikachu in his arms before standing beside Ash as he was listening to this. After taking a few seconds to think about the issue, Brock turned his head to Ash with a bright smile.

"Ash, can I give you a word of advice?" he asked. Ash turned his glance to Brock with an expression of surprise before nodding, wanting to know what Brock's idea of what he should say was. "As someone who is an expert of love, I can safely tell you this: sometimes the best confession is one that comes from the heart, when you say exactly what you really feel for someone. So when you decide to tell May about your feelings for her, just be who you are and tell her how you truly feel for her. I know for sure that there's no way she won't accept if you do just that." Brock explained. Ash was listening intently to this and then he turned his glance down to think about this, placing a hand over the part of his chest where his heart could be found.

'_So I just need to tell May about my true feelings for her, tell her what I feel for her in my heart...' _Ash thought to himself. While this was the first time he had ever been in love with someone, there was one thing Ash knew for certain: May was the one his heart desired. She was the one he wanted to share everything with, and he intended on letting her know of that. Once he realised all of this, a bright smile slowly came to his face and he turned his head back up to Brock before nodding. "Thanks, Brock. I'll remember to do just that." Ash stated. Pikachu quickly showed a big smile of delight as he had been listening to this and he let out a cheer of excitement since he was looking forward to when that moment finally came.

"No problem, Ash. If you need any help, just let me know." Brock replied. Ash nodded in agreement, and then he headed off out of the room so he could leave Brock to finish off his checklist of supplies to buy, with Pikachu following behind him as he closed the door. Once it was just him in the hallway, Ash showed a bright smile as he was looking forward to today before he walked off to find the staircase, with the feeling that he now knew exactly what to do with May.

A little later, the group were arriving on the outskirts of Rustboro City and they were gathered together so they knew exactly what to do. "I'm going down to the shopping district to look for supplies. Misty, would you like to come along with me to help?" Brock asked, turning his head to Misty. Misty showed an expression of surprise at this offer before she showed a bright smile and nodded.

"Sure thing!" Misty cheerfully replied, with Togepi letting out a happy chirp of agreement in her arms. Brock showed a bright smile once he heard Misty agree to help him out, and then the two turned their heads to Ash and May. "Pikachu, would you like to come along with us?" Misty asked. Pikachu showed a bright smile and nodded before jumping over onto Misty's shoulder, as he figured that Ash and May would want to look around by themselves. Once this was figured out, Misty turned her head to Ash and May. "What are you guys going to do while we're busy?" she asked.

"We're just going to go have a look around the city and see what there is to do. We'll meet up with you guys back at the Pokemon Centre in a few hours." Ash replied, with May watching him in surprise while he was talking. Brock and Misty both nodded in understanding, since that meant both of their groups had something different to do while they were here.

"That sounds good to me. We'll meet back up with you guys tonight!" Misty replied, showing a bright smile as she seemed to agree with this idea. With this, she and Brock started to walk off to look for the shopping district while Pikachu turned his head and waved to Ash and May. "(We'll see you guys later!)" he called.

"There's no need for you guys to rush! Just take all the time you need!" Ash called. Once Brock and Misty turned a corner to look for their destination, Ash and May both turned their heads to each other. "Well, it looks it's just you and me now, May. You up for that day in the city I promised you?" Ash asked. May quickly showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement, hearing that Ash still remembered that as she was more than looking forward to this. "So, where do you think we should start?" Ash then asked with an expression of puzzlement; given that Rustboro City was considerably larger than Petalburg City, he really had no clue where he and May should head to first.

"Well, first we need to figure out where we are now. And luckily, I have us covered with that." May replied. She then grabbed out her guidebook from her bag and opened it up to show the page that had a complete map of Rustboro City, along with picking up a small red marker from one of the front pockets on her bag. "Let's see now... at the moment, we're here..." May drew a small circle in the area that she and Ash were currently standing at and then she slowly moved the marker over to where the Pokemon Centre was and drew a circle around it. "And we need to meet back up here. So that leaves our route as such." May said, before she started to draw a route on the map that would lead from the outskirts on the city back towards the Pokemon Centre, making sure she didn't miss anything along the way before showing the route they would take to Ash. "There we go! I've got our route all planned out: we'll have the whole day to spend in the city and I also made sure that we don't miss out on seeing anything. What do you think?" she asked.

When Ash turned his head down to look at their route, he nearly jumped from alarm; if the picture of the map was much to go by, it seemed as though Rustboro City was one of those giant cities that had something for everyone, and it also seemed that May wanted to see it all in one day. Ash nearly found himself stiffening up as he started to wonder how in the world they were going to be able to do that, but when he looked up to see her cheerful smile of excitement, he then realised that there was no way he could disappoint her; he was looking forward to this day just as much as she was and if doing all of this meant they could spent as much time together as possible, then he would stay beside her for all of it.

So with this, he showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "I guess that means we'll have a big day ahead of us. There's a lot to see in this city and a whole day for us to do it. Are you ready to get going?" he asked. May cheerfully nodded in agreement and with that, the two started to walk off to check their starting destination. As the two were walking side by side, May turned her head to Ash and she felt her cheeks starting to turn red.

"Ash... this is amazing." May whispered. Ash turned his head to May with an expression of surprise wondering if she said something. "Think about it: it's just you and I spending a whole day in Rustboro City together. I don't know if you'll agree with me, but it feels like... we're out on a date." May happily commented. Ash watched her in surprise before he showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it really feels that way, doesn't it? I guess we can really see it like that, huh?" Ash asked. May cheerfully nodded in agreement, since that sounded like a good idea to her. Ash then looked down to find that he and May's hands were side by side while they were walking, so he reached over and took May's hand in his. May nearly jumped from surprise as she felt like someone had her hand and she looked down to find that Ash was the one holding it, and she turned her glance up to see him brightly smiling at her and she couldn't help herself smiling back. The two then turned their heads back to the road while still keeping their glances on each other; they were really looking forward to today at this rate.

Meanwhile in a different area of the city, the Rocket Trio were sound asleep in their room at the hotel they were staying in; they had been feeling exhausted from walking to find a phone booth the previous day, so they were enjoying a much needed sleep in. However, the three suddenly heard the sound of something knocking on the door. "I'll go see who it is." Jessie said, raising her arm up before she sat up in the bed the three of them were sharing with her and James side by side and Meowth curled up at the foot of the bed and climbed out before walking over to the door. When she opened it, she was met with one of the managers, who was a young woman, holding a white envelope in her hand. "Can we help you?" Jessie asked, still feeling a bit groggy from having gotten to bed late last night. The young woman showed an expression of surprise seeing that Jessie wasn't fully awake just yet.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realise that you were still asleep; I didn't mean to wake you up. This came in the mail for you." The woman said, holding up the envelope for Jessie to see with an apologetic smile. Jessie turned her glance down at the envelope before she grabbed it out of the woman's hand and slammed the door much to the woman's surprise before she showed a nervous smile. "I guess she mustn't be an early morning person. I wouldn't blame her, though." The woman commented to herself as she was walking off.

Once she had made sure that the door was closed, Jessie walked over to one of the chairs in the main room and sat down so she could have a look at what the envelope was about; she noticed that the address was from the Rocket Base down in Kanto. She then tore the top of the envelope off and picked up the letter inside it, which had what looked like a pay check stapled onto it. As Jessie read what the letter said to herself, she then noticed the pay check on the bottom of the letter and a bright smile quickly came to her face. Without a moment to spare, she rushed over to the bedroom. "Great news, you two!" Jessie cheered. Unfortunately, her loud cheer startled both James and Meowth as they jumped from alarm and fell off the bed onto the floor while Jessie watched in surprise. After a few seconds, the two lifted their heads to look up at Jessie.

"What's up, Jessie?" James asked. Meowth rubbed his forehead to make sure he hadn't damaged his lucky coin before looking up at Jessie. "Don't you think you could have waited until we were ready to get up to give us that wake-up call?" Meowth asked, showing an expression of annoyance in her direction. Jessie stared at the two in surprise before she showed a bright smile.

"Sorry about that, you two. But I have something to show you!" Jessie replied. With this, she held out the pay check for the two to look at, which prompted them to show matching expressions of surprise wondering if they were seeing this right. "Our last pay check just came in this morning. That means we can go look for a change of wardrobe!" Jessie stated. As soon as James and Meowth heard this, they both showed bright smiles before jumping up on their feet.

"So then, what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on to the shopping district!" Meowth replied. James then grabbed out his guidebook to have a look at where they could find the shopping district before pointing to an area in the middle of the city for Jessie and Meowth to look at with him.

"If we take a right once we get outside, we should be able to find the shopping district, and it's only a few minutes' walking distance from our hotel." James explained. The three then looked at each other with matching bright smiles as they knew exactly where to go.

"Well then, we know where to go. So let's get a move on!" Jessie cheered. James and Meowth both cheered in agreement with her, and Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" as he was cheering along with them.

Back with Ash and May, the two were continuing their walk as they were holding hands and brightly smiling at each other. As May turned her head to the road in front of them, she let a squeal of excitement before turning her head back to Ash. "We're here!" she cheered before she started to run off ahead with Ash trying to keep up with her. When the two arrived at the end of the alleyway they had been walking down, they were met with an amazing sight: all around them, they could see various different shops with people walking by and having a look around at what was in the shops. As Ash was looking around in awe seeing just how large it was, May had a big smile of excitement on her face and her eyes had gone large revealing the bright blue colour in them as she looked at the various shops before she turned around to face Ash. "We're in the shopping district; the heart of Rustboro City! Look at how many shops there are around here: there are clothing stores, jewellery stores, flower shops, basically everything someone would need to survive!" May exclaimed, her smile growing bigger as she was talking; it seemed as if Rustboro City was a dream come true for her. Ash could only stare in surprise seeing just how thrilled she was being here, before he showed a bright smile and walked over to her.

"Well then, why don't we have a look around and see what we can find?" Ash suggested. May turned her head to him and cheerfully nodded in agreement, so the two held hands again before they started to walk over to the shopping district to have a look at what kind of shops there were. As the two stepped in through the front door, they didn't notice that the Rocket Trio had just arrived; Jessie was leading with giving directions since she didn't want the three of them to end up lost again like what happened while they were looking for the phone booth. As the three stepped inside the shopping district, they all showed matching expressions of awe.

"Wow..." Jessie whispered, with a bright smile slowly showing on her face, while James and Meowth could only stare in silence.

"Just look at this place... it's huge!" Meowth exclaimed. "It probably has more shops than I can keep track of." James commented. After taking a few seconds to let the sights around them sink in, Jessie turned around to face James and Meowth so she could tell them about what they were going to do while they were here.

"All right, now that we're here, it's time for us to find a place where we can look for a change of wardrobe. Some of this pay check will be for my wardrobe, some of it will go to James's and whatever we have left over, we'll save for it something special." Jessie explained. James and Meowth both nodded in understanding, with James turning his glance down to think about something: now that they were in Rustboro City, he started to wonder when he should remind Jessie about that date he asked her out on while they were in Petalburg Woods. He did remember that she had said yes to his offer, but he was wondering if she would keep true to that if he asked her. But as he was thinking about this, his thoughts were interrupted when Jessie spoke up again and he turned his glance up to hear to what she was saying. "Well then, now that we have that figured out, let's move!" Jessie stated. With this, the Rocket Trio started to walk off to find to see where they could find a good clothing shop.

Back with Ash and May, the two were looking around at the shops they could see in the district. "They've really got a lot of shops around here; I guess you weren't kidding when you said that Rustboro City had something for everyone, May." Ash commented, turning his head back and forth to see the various shops that were around them. As May turned her head to the right, a bright smile crossed her face and she rushed over to look through the window before she turned her head to Ash.

"Ash, come look at this!" May called. Ash walked over to see what it was that May found and noticed that she was looking through the window of a shop that sold various kinds of dresses; he could see that they were of varying colours, styles and sizes, which was something that was making May one very happy girl if the big smile on her face was much to go by. "Wow... look at all these beautiful dresses! If I had the choice, I would buy all of them; I can't seem to choose which one I like the most!" May happily gushed. Ash could only show a smile of amusement seeing just how happy she was, so he turned his glance to her as he had an idea.

"So why don't we have a look around and see if there's something you like?" Ash suggested. May nearly jumped from amazement hearing this from Ash, considering how he was less than thrilled to do shopping with her while they were at Petalburg City. But she decided not to think about it and simply showed a bright smile before nodding in agreement, so the two stepped inside the store to have a look at what kind of dresses there were around. There was one particular item that caught May's attention, and she rushed over to have a look while Ash followed to catch up with her: it was a bright red sleeveless dress that matched the colour of May's clothes.

"This red one looks so lovely." May happily commented. But then she turned her head to notice another one nearby and ran over to have a look at it: it was a sapphire blue dress that matched the colour of May's eyes with light blue sleeves and it looked like it was long enough to reach down to May's ankles. "Oh wow, look at this one over here! Doesn't it just look beautiful?" May asked, turning her head to Ash as he was walking over to try and catch up with her.

"Yeah, it sure does." Ash replied, nodding in agreement with a bright smile. He then turned his glance to May as she picked it up and placed it against herself to see just how it would fit before she turned around to Ash to hear his opinion on it. "What do you think, Ash? Do you think this one looks nice?" she asked. Ash had a look at the dress before looking up at May and nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, I think so. After all, it really matches your eyes." Ash replied. May showed a bright smile at the compliment before she let out a giggle with her cheeks starting to glow bright red. With that, May started to walk off to look for the front counter so she could pay for the dress. As Ash was waiting for her, he had a look at the red dress May was having a look at earlier and felt a bright smile show on his face; he didn't say it out loud, but he had a feeling that May would look great wearing the red dress as well. However, he was interrupted when he saw May walking over to him, carrying a bag that had the blue dress inside. "So, you ready to keep going?" Ash asked. May cheerfully nodded in agreement; since they had a full day ahead of them, she knew they couldn't afford to waste any time.

As the two stepped out of the shop to keep walking around, a bright smile quickly crossed May's face as something else caught her eye and she rushed off ahead while Ash was trying to keep up with her: it seemed that May had now spotted a jewellery shop that had a window display showing an assortment of jewellery including rings, bracelets and necklaces. "Wow, those are just so beautiful! Come on, we should have a look in here too." May cheered, turning her head to Ash before stepping inside the shop with Ash following behind her. "Wow..." May whispered, her eyes going wide in awe as she noticed all the different kinds of jewellery that were around.

Ash could only stare in disbelief while he looked around the shop. "So this is what being inside a jewellery store looks like." Ash commented. As he looked around, he could see glass cases with different kinds of jewellery inside them on each shelf as well as glass windows that had various rings, earrings and necklaces on each shelf. As Ash and May were both looking at the displays, May spotted one particular shelf and bent down to have a look at it seeing the different types of rings with coloured gemstones in the middle.

"Oh wow, I can't believe how many rings there are here! This district is basically every girl's dream come true!" May exclaimed. As Ash was watching her with a bright smile, something suddenly caught his eye and he turned his glance to notice what it was: it was a necklace that had a silver chain with a sapphire gemstone in the shape of a heart encased inside it along with a row of cubic zirconia stones along the top. Ash walked over to have a closer look at the necklace to see the sapphire gemstone before he looked back at May, noticing that the colour of the gemstone perfectly matched her eyes and the dress she bought. As soon as Ash noticed the similarity, a bright smile came to his face as he had an idea. But then he noticed that May was already heading out of the store and she turned her head to him once she noticed he wasn't following. "Hey, Ash? Are you coming too?" she asked.

Ash quickly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'll be right there. I'll meet up with you outside." he replied. May showed an expression of puzzlement as she started to wonder what had caught Ash's attention, but she showed a bright smile and nodding in understanding before she made her way out of the jewellery store to wait for him. Once he made sure that May was at a safe enough distance from the store, Ash turned his glance back to the necklace with a bright smile. "I have a feeling that May will love this." Ash commented to himself, turning his head to the direction that May went off in with a bright smile on his face; he had a feeling that she would be in for a surprise when he showed it to her.

Back with May, she was waiting outside for Ash as she was wondering what he had noticed in the store that he wanted her to wait for him. But after a few seconds, she turned to see Ash on his way outside to catch up with her. "There you are, Ash. Did you find what you were looking for?" May asked, showing a bright smile as she wanted to know what he got in there. However, her smile faded when she saw Ash shake his head in response.

"No, not really. There wasn't much in there that caught my attention." Ash replied. May let out a sigh of disappointment hearing this, to which Ash stared at her in surprise before showing a reassuring smile. "Hey, there is still a lot to do in this city. What do you say to having a look around before we stop for some lunch?" Ash suggested. That quickly brought the smile back on May's face as she turned her glance up to Ash and nodded in agreement, so the two held hands before resuming their walk around the city. As the two were walking, Ash showed a bright smile before turning his head to look at his bag; he had a feeling that May would be in for a surprise.

Back inside the shopping district, the Rocket Trio stepped out of the shop they had been looking around in with Jessie and James having a different wardrobe; Jessie was wearing a light purple dress with matching heels, a light yellow cardigan on top as well as having her hair tied up in a bun behind her head, along with a white hat and red sunglasses while James was wearing a light yellow and lime green long sleeved t-shirt with a red tie around the collar, light brown jeans and black shoes along with a grey hat and a pair of glasses. As the three stepped back outside in the city, Jessie let out a cheerful sigh as she and James took their glasses off and placed them on their hats. "Now this is more like it! It feels so good to finally be out of that Team Rocket uniform and in something that's more my style." Jessie commented, showing a bright smile as she turned to the other two.

Just then, Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" in agreement with them. As the Rocket Trio turned their heads to glare at him, seeing that he had come out again when he wasn't needed, James then turned his head to Jessie with an expression of worry on his face as he just realised something.

"What are we going to do with our old Rocket uniforms?" James asked; he and Jessie were carrying their Team Rocket uniforms with them since they didn't want to leave them behind. Jessie had a look around to see if there was somewhere they could get rid of the uniforms, and a bright smile crossed her face when she noticed a used clothing bin nearby, and then she looked back at James and Meowth to let them know of her find.

"I think I found just what we're looking for." Jessie commented, pointing over at the bin to which James and Meowth showed matching bright smiles. Without a moment to spare, Jessie and James walked over to the clothes bin, with Jessie opening the lid before the two dumped their Rocket uniforms in it. "Now that that's taken care of, why don't we see if we can look for those twerps now?" Jessie suggested, turning her head to the other two beside her. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, so the three started to walk off to see if they could figure out where to find Ash and the others; given the size of the city they were in, they had to be around somewhere.

Back with Ash and May, the two were having a walk down the street and looking around at the various buildings that could be found in the city. As they were looking around, May looked up to notice the tower they visited when they first arrived. "Hey, Ash, look! We didn't get a chance to have a proper look around when we first went there. You want to go have a look?" May asked, turning to Ash.

Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "That sounds good to me." he replied. So with this, the two stepped inside and went to look for the elevator they used to get up there. Once they found it, they stepped inside with the door closing behind them and after about a few minutes of waiting, the elevator arrived at the top of the building with the door opening to allow the two to step out to have a look around the top floor. As the two started to look at the shops on the top floor, May noticed the windows on the side and ran over to have a look outside, with a bright smile on her face as Ash came over to look with her.

"Wow... this is such an amazing view of Rustboro City! We can see pretty much everything from up here." May happily commented. She then turned her glance to spot one of the binocular stands nearby, so she and Ash walked over to it with May being the first to have a look through the binoculars while Ash watched her. After a few seconds, May turned her head to Ash. "Hey, do you want to have a look with me?" she asked. Ash nodded in response, so he walked over and had a look through one of the binocular lenses while May had a look through the other and they both showed bright smiles as they realised just how much of Rustboro City they could see from there. "Check it out! I can see the shopping district from here." May said, pointing over to the right from where she was looking through the binoculars.

"I can see Rustboro Gym and the Trainer's School just next to it." Ash replied, pointing up ahead to show where he had located both of the locations in question. The two then lifted their heads up from the binocular stand before brightly smiling at each other. "Man, spending the day in the city is so much fun; I never realised how much there was to do around here!" Ash commented, while Pikachu nodded in agreement with him.

"I know, right?" May agreed. After a few seconds, she then turned her glance down while Ash watched in surprise, wondering what was wrong. "You know, Ash? Being out here in the city and seeing all the different sights there are to see, it really makes me glad I'm spending the day out here with you." May explained, before she turned her head back up to Ash and showed a bright smile with her cheeks starting to turn red while she was talking. Ash stared in surprise as he was listening to May before he showed a big smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me too. I'm really enjoying this day with you." Ash simply replied. With this, he reached forward and took May's hands in his, which she looked down to notice and then turned her head up to see him showing her a bright smile and she couldn't help smiling back. The two then brightly smiled at each other for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's company as they were just spending this day together looking around the city. However, the two suddenly heard a loud grumble and Ash quickly showed a nervous smile as it was coming from his stomach. "Uh... sorry about that. I think I'm ready for some lunch now." Ash commented.

May initially showed an expression of annoyance at this interruption, but then she heard her stomach start to grumble as well and looked up at Ash with a bright smile. "Yeah... so am I." May replied. The two then started to laugh for a few seconds before they both calmed down. "How about we see if there's somewhere we can get some lunch?" May suggested. Ash nodded in agreement with that idea, so the two started to look around the shops on the floor to see where they could get something to eat.

Meanwhile with Brock and Misty, the two had taken a break from their supply shopping to grab some lunch and the two were sitting at a table that was just outside a food court; they had both grabbed a burger each for themselves while Pikachu sat on the floor next to the table they were sitting at and enjoying some Pokemon food. As Misty took a bite out of her burger, she turned her head up to Brock with a big smile on her face. "Wow, I have to admit that this shopping district is great! You can basically find anything you're looking for here." Misty commented. Brock looked up at her and nodded in agreement; so far looking for the things they needed had been pretty simple and now they just had a few more items to go. Of course, it hadn't exactly been easy with Brock trying to talk to every woman they came across in the district, so that was why he considered himself lucky that he let Misty come with him, otherwise he would have been there all day. Misty then showed an expression of concern as she turned her head to look back in the direction that she saw Ash and May head off in; she spotted the two while they were looking around at the shops, but she decided not to interrupt them while they were busy. "I wonder how Ash and May are doing with looking around the city. I hope they haven't gotten themselves lost." Misty said. Brock simply showed a reassuring smile as Misty turned her head back to him.

"Oh, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, Misty. I think Ash and May are having a great time. Besides, they've got a map in their guidebook so they'll know exactly where they are." Brock replied. Misty showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement with this, while Pikachu looked up to listen to this. "After we're done here, we better get back to finding the rest of our supplies; we still have quite a bit more to get." Brock commented; from the rate they were going at, it seemed that they were going to be busy for a while longer. Pikachu then looked up to think, as he was wondering what Ash and May could be doing as they were looking around together.

Back with Ash and May, the two were sitting on one of the benches together to enjoy their lunch; they had spotted a food stall that had different types of food that were made with Berries and they decided to get their new favourite: Berry Kababs. May had placed her shopping bag on the bench beside her while she was eating, since she wanted to make sure she didn't lose it. As May was munching on her own kebab, she turned her head to Ash with a bright smile. "These are so yummy! I don't think they're as good as the ones we made, though." May commented.

"Yeah; I really liked the ones you made while we were heading to Petalburg City. In fact, if I had to be honest, I would really prefer the Berry Kebabs you made yourself, May." Ash replied. May showed a bright smile at this compliment and nodded in agreement; she liked the Berry Kebabs she made herself as well. In fact, she still found herself wondering how she came up with the name for them. She then watched as Ash stood up from the seat before turning to her. "Are you ready to continue that walk around the city we were on? We can bring these with us and finish eating them while we walk." Ash suggested. May promptly nodded in agreement, so the two stood up, with May making sure to grab her shopping bag on the way, before they resumed walking with Ash showing a bright smile as there was something that caught his attention.

"Hey, look at that!" Ash said. May turned her head to see what Ash was pointing at and noticed that there was a long bridge-walk leading towards a different building and they would be able to look at the view from the glass shielding surrounding the bridge. "Come on, let's go have a look at what we can see!" Ash suggested, before running over to look down through the glass while May followed behind him to have a look for herself. "Woah... you can really see a lot from up here." Ash commented, a smile of awe showing on his face as he noticed the different buildings they could see at this view.

May had a look down with him to notice that sure enough, they could see all the buildings that stretched across the streets from where they were. "Yeah... it's a pretty amazing view." May agreed. The two then turned their heads to each other with matching bright smiles, before they stood upright and held each other's hands so they could resume the walk across the bridge, turning their glances back and forth to look at the city view while mostly keeping their glances on each other. The two soon arrived at the elevator and stepped inside as the door slowly opened, with the two soon arriving at the bottom floor and stepping outside with May quickly showing a bright smile at the sight: all across the street, she could see the areas where the flower shops were, so the two started to walk over to have a look around. "Oh, this is so beautiful! I wonder how many kinds of flowers they have in these places." May commented, a smile of awe showing on her face. Ash then turned his head to May, having just noticed something he didn't see before.

"Speaking of flowers, what happened to the one that was in your hair?" he asked. May showed an expression of puzzlement as she started to wonder what Ash was talking about, before she turned her glance up to notice that the daisy she had on the side of her head wasn't there anymore, prompting her to let out a gasp of alarm.

"Oh no! I must have lost it while we were swimming in the lake. That was something you gave to me and now I've lost it. What am I going to do now?" May asked, looking down in dismay at the fact that she lost something that Ash gave her, even if she didn't notice it at first. Ash turned his glance down to think about how to handle this, and then he noticed that at the front of one of the flower shops, there was a bright blue rose that matched the colour of May's eyes. With a bright smile coming to his face, Ash walked over to have a look while May showed an expression of surprise before she followed him, wondering what had caught his attention this time. She then noticed that he was looking at the blue rose and was met with a surprise when he picked it up from where it was sitting beside the front door of the flower shop and showed it to her.

"I'm not sure if this will be able to replace the one you had, but I hope you like it." Ash said, showing a shy smile as he held the rose up in front of May. May stared at the rose in awestruck silence for a few moments, before a bright smile slowly showed on her face and she took the rose from Ash to have a look at it before she turned her glance up to him.

"Wow... thank you, Ash. I love it." May softly replied. Ash couldn't help feeling his smile grow brighter upon hearing May say that she loved the blue rose and it seemed that the woman who was running the flower shop took notice as well because she walked over to the two with a bright smile while they turned around to see her.

"Aw, look at you two! Are you two out on your first date?" she asked. Ash and May could only stare in surprise as soon as they heard this question and they turned their heads to each other, wondering how they were supposed to answer that, before they turned their heads back to the young woman.

"Uh... yeah, I guess so." Ash replied, slowly nodding as he said that, while May turned her glance to him in amazement. This reply seemed to make the young woman very happy because she showed a bright smile and clasped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh, that's great! I hope you two are having a good time together." The woman replied, to which Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; he was enjoying spending the day in the city with May. As May could only stare at Ash in amazement from what she heard him say, she was met with a surprise as the young woman turned her glance to her, to which she quickly turned her head to look at her. "You know, I think you must be very lucky to have such a sweet boyfriend like him." The young woman commented. May nearly jumped back from alarm as soon as she heard this comment, and then she turned her glance to Ash as she felt her face turning red.

'_Ash... my boyfriend?' _May asked herself. Once she had a few moments to process this, she felt a bright smile show on her face. _'That would be a dream come true if that were to happen...' _May thought to herself, letting out a happy sigh at the possibility of Ash actually becoming her boyfriend; for her, that would be the thing she was looking forward to the most. However, she was snapped out of her dreamy state when she noticed that Ash wasn't beside her and she turned her head to see him waving to her as he was a little distance away from her; it seemed that he had started walking before noticing that he was accidently leaving her behind.

"Hey, May? Are you coming?" Ash asked. May quickly nodded before she ran over to catch up with him, with the young woman watching the two with a bright smile. Once she caught up with him again, Ash and May resumed walking with Ash turning his head to her. "What were you thinking about back here?" he asked.

May nearly jumped hearing this question and then she turned her glance down for a few moments before she looked back at Ash. "W-well... I was just listening to you talking to the woman running the flower shop and... when I heard her ask if we were on a date, I didn't really know how to respond to that..." May nervously explained. Ash stared at her in surprise while he was listening to this before he simply showed a bright smile.

"Well, we kind of are, right? I mean, we're spending the day together in the city and enjoying each other's company. That sounds like a date to me, don't you think?" Ash asked. May slowly showed a bright smile while she was listening to this and nodded in agreement; that sounded like it was fair to her. She then looked down at the blue rose Ash picked out for her; she noticed that the colour matched not only the colour of her eyes, but also the dress that she bought. After a few seconds, she then placed the rose behind her right ear and turned her head to Ash so he could have a look, to which he showed a bright smile. "Now that looks great, May." Ash commented. May cheerfully nodded in agreement, and then the two reached down to hold hands before they resumed their walk through the city.

In an area that wasn't too far from where they were, the Rocket Trio were looking around to see if they could spot any sign of Ash and the others and they hadn't had much success so far. As the three were looking around to see if they could find anyone, Jessie turned her glance to the road ahead and a bright smile quickly showed on her face. "Look at that, you two! It's them!" Jessie happily exclaimed. James and Meowth both looked at her in puzzlement wondering what she was talking about, and then they turned their glances to notice that just up ahead, Ash and May were there walking down the street together. As soon as the three spotted them, James and Meowth both showed smiles of excitement.

"Come on, let's go already!" Meowth stated. Without a moment to spare, the Rocket Trio started to walk over to where Ash and May were. As Ash and May were walking together, May turned her head with an expression of surprise and quickly pulled on Ash's arm to get his attention.

"Hey, Ash, look at that!" May said, pointing to the right. Ash had a look with her to notice that just nearby, in the alleyway beside them, there was what looked like a box of old clothes. May rushed over to have a look inside and noticed there was a pair of blue wedged shoes that matched the colour of her dress and seemed to still be in good condition. "Why would you throw a good pair of shoes like these out? They still look fine to me." May commented, showing an expression of annoyance seeing that someone would throw a pair of shoes like this out, so she placed it in the shopping bag next to her dress. Ash showed a smile of amusement watching this, but then the two of them looked up to notice a young man and woman walking over to them and May showed a bright smile as the two stopped in front of them. "Hello there! Can we help you?" she asked. Jessie and James both looked at each other in surprise, wondering if Ash and May couldn't recognise them, before they turned their glances back to the two showing matching bright smiles.

"Well, actually, you can. We've been looking for the two of you because we wanted to ask for your help with something." Jessie replied. Ash and May both turned their glances to each other in surprise before they nodded in understanding so they could hear what they needed to help these two with. As soon as Jessie saw this, she showed a smile of excitement before turning her head to the other two beside her. "This is working out better than I thought it would!" Jessie happily commented.

"I know; they'll be sure to help us out." James agreed, happily nodding. As the three were happily talking amongst themselves, Ash and May looked at each other in confusion before they started to walk off figuring that maybe these three needed some time alone. However, the Rocket Trio didn't notice this and when they turned their heads to continue talking to Ash and May, they noticed that they were nowhere to be seen. "Where did they go?" James asked, showing an expression of puzzlement upon noticing that Ash and May weren't there. Jessie looked around in disbelief for a few moments before she let out a sigh of dismay.

"I can't believe we lost them just as soon as we found them..." Jessie sighed, looking down in disappointment. Almost as if on cue, Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" which prompted the Rocket Trio to turn their heads to him with matching glares on their face. "Did we ask for you? If there's anyone I don't need to make things worse, it has to be you!" Jessie snapped. With this, she grabbed out Wobbuffet's Pokeball and returned him into it before turning her head to James and Meowth. "Come on, we have to catch up with them!" Jessie stated. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement and without a moment to spare, the three rushed off to look for where Ash and May went.

As Ash and May were continuing their walk, May was scratching her head in puzzlement while Ash watched her. After a few seconds of silence on May's part, she turned her head to Ash. "What do you think was up with those guys? They really looked happy to see us, and I can't help myself wondering if we've seen them before." May explained. Ash looked down to think about it; now that May mentioned it, something did seem familiar about those two and their voices were seem recognisable, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why that was.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, they did look familiar. Where would we have seen them before, though?" Ash asked, mostly to himself. While he was trying to think about it, his thoughts were interrupted as May turned her head to look back at the road and a bright smile crossed her face as something caught her eye.

"Ash, look!" May exclaimed, pointing up ahead. Ash turned his head to May wondering what was up, before he looked up to notice a large building just on the road in front of them. May grabbed up her guidebook to have a look at the map to find out what this building was before she turned her head to Ash. "It looks like this is the Rustboro Museum. Come on, let's go have a look inside!" May happily commented, showing a bright smile before she and Ash went over to make their way to the front entrance.

As the pair made their way through the front entrance, they looked around to see that around them, they could see different kinds of paintings hung on the walls as well as what seemed to be sculptures. Ash and May both looked around with matching expressions of awe seeing the works of art inside the building, with May's eyes going wide in amazement. "Wow... look at all the pieces of artwork they have in this place..." May quietly commented, turning her head to Ash while she said that. Ash could only slowly nod in agreement; everything around him looked absolutely amazing. The two noticed what looked like a large black Pokeball that was placed on a pedestal and walked over to have a look. "What is that?" May asked.

Ash had a look at the description beside the black Pokeball to see what it said before turning his head to May. "It looks like this large Pokeball was made from black stone. And it must have been used in festivals during ancient times." Ash replied. May looked up at the Pokeball in awe before she turned her head to notice what looked like a large sculpture of a Shroomish not too far beside them and quickly rushed over to have a look at it.

"Wow, look at this!" May gasped. Ash walked over to see what May had found and noticed her reading the description before she turned her head to him with a bright smile of awe. "This was made by an up-and-coming artist? It looks so much like the real deal!" May said. Ash could only nod in agreement as he stared up at the sculpture; while hadn't seen a Shroomish yet, he could tell that it looked pretty accurate. The two's next stop was having a look at the paintings hanging up on the walls and they could see different artworks in each painting such as a picture of a young woman sitting in a chair with a Kirlia sitting on a lap, a painting of a round vase with different kinds of flowers placed in it, a painting of a Ralts against a black background and there was one that caught the two's attention the most: it was a painting of what looked like a forest filled with different kinds of Pokemon together playing and munching on the forest berries and in the focus were a row of Bellossom dancing as sunlight poured down in the forest through the tree branches. "There are so many beautiful paintings in this place! It's just so amazing being in here; I feel like I'm being inspired looking at these." May happily commented, a big smile of awe on her face. Ash couldn't help himself keeping his glance on May as he watched her with a bright smile; it was safe to say that this day had been a lot of fun for the both of them.

As the two stepped outside from that walk around the museum, they looked up at the sky to see that late afternoon was approaching and it was getting close to becoming evening. "It looks like we should start heading back to the Pokemon Centre now; Brock and Misty will probably be waiting for us." Ash commented. May nodded in agreement, so the two started to make their way back there. As the two were walking, Ash had his glance turned down as he was thinking about something while May was happily talking and she didn't seem to notice that he wasn't paying attention.

"Wow, wasn't today so much fun? I can't wait until we get back so we can tell Brock and Misty about it! I wonder how they went with their supply shopping." May said, apparently not noticing that Ash wasn't listening to her. After a few seconds, Ash stopped in his tracks and turned his glance up to look at May while she was walking off ahead; he had thinking about doing this all day and now seemed like it was the right time to ask her this.

"May?" Ash asked. May stopped in her tracks and turned her head to Ash wondering what was up. "Yeah, Ash? What is it?" May asked in response, turning around to face him. Ash started to feel himself tense up as he was wondering whether or not he would be able to ask this, but considering that May asked him to spend this day with her, it seemed only fair that he ask something for her. So with this, he turned his glance up to her while she was waiting patiently to hear what it was he had to say.

"Well, I've just been wondering... I've really enjoyed spending time with you today, and it was really a lot of fun looking around the city and just doing things together. But... there is something else I would like to do before we head back." Ash explained. May showed an expression as she started to wonder what it was that Ash wanted to do before they went to join up with Brock and Misty. As Ash turned his glance down to think about how to word this question, he could feel his face start to turn red and his heart racing in his chest; he knew that once he asked May this, there would be no turning back. "May... I was wondering if... you wanted to... go out with me tonight..." Ash slowly said, his voice almost completely silent.

May nearly froze when she heard this and her eyes started to go wide from shock. _'Did he just ask what I heard him ask?' _She then slowly showed a bright smile as she wanted to make sure she was hearing this right. "Ash... did I just hear that right? You're asking me to go out with you?" she asked. Ash turned his glance up to May and slowly nodded in confirmation, with a bright smile slowly showing.

"Y-yeah... I was thinking that... maybe we could go out somewhere..." Before he could get a chance to continue, May interrupted him as she rushed over and stopped just in front of him much to his surprise.

"For dinner? At a nice restaurant? Like a proper date?" May excitedly asked, as she was nearly feeling close to grabbing Ash by the front of his sweatshirt. Ash nearly jumped from surprise seeing May's excitement about this and then, with a nervous smile on his face, he slowly nodded in confirmation. That seemed to do it for May, because her smile instantly grew in size and she started to jump up and down in excitement while Ash watched her in disbelief. "Yay! This is great! This is exactly what I've been waiting to hear since we started this day!" May cheered. After a few moments, May took a few deep breaths to calm herself down a bit and then she turned around to face Ash before she quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, Ash. I would love to go out with you." May replied.

As soon as Ash heard this reply, a bright smile crossed his face. "May, that's great! I have to be honest, I wasn't sure about asking you because I didn't know what you were going to say, but it's great to hear that you said yes." Ash commented. He then felt his cheeks start to turn while May felt hers do the same, and then she slowly leaned forward and kissed Ash on the cheek, leaving him to stare in stunned silence while she let out a cheerful giggle.

"I'm going to head back to the Pokemon Centre so I can get ready. See you tonight." May said, turning her head to Ash and winking at him before she started to head off to look for the Pokemon Centre. As she was walking, Ash was left standing and staring in silence as he realised what May just did and he felt a bright smile show on his face, but then that smile quickly faded and changed into an expression of alarm as the realisation of what had just occurred hit him: he and May were going to go out on their first date, and he didn't have any idea of what he should wear or where they should go to for their dinner, and what just made it worse was the fact that he only had a few hours at the most to figure those two things out. Once these realisations came to him, Ash let out a scream of both alarm and panic.

"I've got to hurry and get my things ready!" Ash gasped. Without a moment to spare, he rushed off to find where the shopping district so he could look for something to wear. It didn't take him long to arrive at where the shopping district and to his relief, he could see that it was still busy as several people were looking around at the shops, so he quickly made his way to the front door and opened it to step inside before he started to walk and looked around at the shops. "All right, let's see. Where would be a good place to find something nice, but not too formal?" Ash asked, as he was looking around to find the shop that he was looking for. As he was starting to feel like he wouldn't have much luck, his eyes turned to notice one of the clothing shops and a bright smile came to his face when he saw the men's wear section, so he promptly nodded and rushed over to head inside so he could find what he was looking for.

Back inside the Pokemon Centre, May had arrived at the top floor and was coming to the door where their room was. Once she was there, she knocked on the door. "Brock? Misty? Are you there?" she asked. But after about a few seconds of waiting, she didn't get a reply and as soon as she noticed this, she grabbed the spare key she carried with her in one of her empty bag pockets and placed it in the key slot before turning it, allowing the door to unlock and allowing her to open it and step inside to see that no one was there. "I wonder where Brock and Misty could be. I bet they must still be busy." May commented to herself, showing an expression of puzzlement. But then she shrugged with a bright smile showing on her face; that gave her plenty of time to get herself ready. With this, she unstrapped her bag from her waist and removed her shoes before placing both items beside the bunk she was sleeping in and heading over to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Once she was inside, May untied her bandana from her hair and placed it down beside the sink before she picked up the hairbrush and started to brush her hair; she had a big smile on her face as she was thinking about what was happening this evening. "I don't believe it... I just don't believe this is actually happening. Ash asked me out! I've been waiting to do the same thing and he beat me to it, so now we're going out on our first date! This is like a dream come true!" May happily commented to herself, feeling her smile grow brighter as the fact that she and Ash were actually going out was starting to sink in and she was realising that this was really happening. She then let out a sigh to herself before she placed her hairbrush down on the sink and ran her fingers through her hair, feeling just how soft it was. "Well, guess it's time for me to get changed." May said to herself. With this, she headed out of the bathroom and picked up her shopping bag to grab out the things she would be wearing for this.

Back with Ash, he was on his way back to the Pokemon Centre carrying a shopping bag in one of his hands; he was actually running so he would be there in time to meet up with May. Luckily, it didn't take him long to arrive at the front door as he rushed over with the automatic door sliding open and allowing him to step inside. Once he was inside, Ash stopped and bent down for a few moments to catch his breath before he lifted his head up and started to look around for where May was. "May? May, are you there?" he asked.

"Here I am, Ash!" As soon as Ash heard that voice, he turned his head to the staircase only to feel that he had his breath knocked out of him again just as soon as he had a chance to catch it from running. Arriving near the bottom of the staircase was May: she was wearing the bright blue dress she bought at the dress shop along with the wedge shoes she found and she had the blue rose Ash picked out for her placed behind the right side of her hair, which hung down freely on both sides of her head. She then showed a bright smile as she arrived at the bottom of the staircase so Ash could see what she was wearing. "So, Ash? What do you think? How do I look?" May asked, turning around so Ash could have a proper look at her dress.

Ash basically stared in stunned silence with an expression of awe before he felt a bright smile slowly show on his face; he always knew that May looked great in her regular clothes, but here she looked absolutely beautiful. Her blue dress, the matching shoes and the blue rose in her hair all gave her the appearance of shining like a sapphire stone. He then felt his face start to turn bright red and his heart felt like it was on fire from smitten awe upon seeing her, while she turned to him noticing his stunned silence. Once he realised that May was staring at him with an expression of concern, wondering if something was wrong, he then shook his head rapidly to snap himself out of his love-struck daze before he looked up at May with a bright smile. "Wow, May... that looks amazing. When I saw you buy the dress, I wondering if you were going to wear it." Ash said.

May showed a bright smile at the compliment and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right. As soon as I heard you suggest, I thought that this would be the perfect chance for me to wear it for the first time and see what you thought of it. I'm really glad you like it." May replied. Ash could only nod in agreement; seeing May in this blue attire that perfectly matched the colour of her eyes, which shone like sapphire stones as he looked at them, was just the image of beauty to him. As May brightly smiled at Ash, she then turned her glance down to notice the shopping bag he was carrying in his hand and showed an expression of surprise. "What's this? Did you head off to get something while I was getting ready?" she asked.

Ash looked down at the bag he was holding before he nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I went off to find something to wear for tonight, since I just realised that I didn't really have anything since we were going out tonight. It's a bit of short notice on my part, but I think I was able to figure it out from there." Ash replied, before he started to laugh while May stared in surprise for a few moments before she showed a bright smile and started to laugh with him. After a few seconds, the two stopped and turned their heads back to each other. "I'm going to go get changed, so that way I'll really be ready to go." Ash then said, before he started to walk off to find the change room that was in the front lobby.

"You do that. I'll be outside waiting." May replied. Ash turned his head to her and nodded in understanding before walking over to the change room, while May made her way over to the front door, which opened by itself to let her out, and came outside to wait for Ash. Once she was outside, May walked over to one of the tables that was just outside of the building and pulled it out before sitting down so she could wait and turned her head up to look at the night sky; she could see the stars shining brightly over her head, with a smile of awe showing on her face as she watched them sparkle. "The night sky always looks so beautiful, even in a place like Rustboro City..." May happily commented to herself. As she was staring up at the stars, she suddenly heard the door of the Pokemon Centre and turned her head, figuring that it was Ash stepping outside to see her. "Oh, Ash! Are you ready to go?" May asked. However, an expression of surprise crossed her face when she saw just what Ash was wearing: he didn't have his cap on and he was wearing what looked like a brown and white striped top with a red tie on the front along with a light brown jacket, black informal jeans and matching brown shoes. He definitely seemed to like it, if the bright smile on his face was much to go by.

"Yeah; I'm ready when you are." Ash replied. May stared in silence for a few seconds before a cheeky smile showed on her face and she stood up to walk over to Ash to have a closer look at his outfit. "Wow, Ash; you certainly dressed to impress." May commented, before she let out a giggle to herself seeing what he was wearing. Ash showed an expression of surprise hearing May's laughter before he showed a nervous smile and started to rub the back of his head.

"Yeah... sorry it isn't anything too fancy. It's not exactly easy to find something to wear for your first date on short notice, but I managed to find something that I liked, and I thought you might like it too. Even if it doesn't really match when putting it next to your dress." Ash explained, showing a nervous smile while he was talking; he was in a bit of a rush since he had to be ready for tonight, so he didn't really have time to find much else. After May managed to control her giggling, she turned her head back to Ash and shook her head in understanding.

"No, it's alright. I think it looks great." May replied. Ash showed a bright smile of relief hearing this and then there was silence from the two for a few seconds before May spoke up. "So... are you ready to get going into the city?" she asked.

"I'm ready when you are." Ash replied with a nod. With that, he held out his hand for May to take, which she happily did as she placed her hand in his, and the two started to make their way over to Rustboro City, ready for their first date.

As the two stepped into the city, they looked around to see that all of the lights of the building were lit up and it was like the city was now alight since night time had arrived. May showed a big smile of awe as she looked around at the city lights. "Wow... the city looks amazing at night! It's like everything comes to life." May happily commented. Ash simply nodded in agreement; it always seemed to be that way with any big cities he visited while travelling. After taking a few seconds to admire the sights, May turned her head to Ash. "So, which restaurant are we going to for this date?" she asked.

Ash turned his glance to her with a bright smile, like he seemed to know exactly where they were going. "After I went to buy what I was going to wear for tonight, I went for a bit of a walk through the city to have a look at what there was and spotted a place that I knew would be just the one to go to. Believe me, May, you'll really like it when we get there! It's just past the shopping district." Ash replied, the smile on his face clearly showing how much confidence he had in the fact that May would love where they were going to go. May showed a bright smile when she heard this and she nodded in understanding; if Ash's word for it was much to go by, she had a feeling that it would be something to enjoy.

Sure enough, the two passed through the shopping district to arrive at the restaurant Ash had found: the building looked like it was about five stories high and the roof was shaped like a sphere. As the two looked up at the building, Ash simply showed a bright smile while May stared up at it in surprise before turning her head to Ash. "This is the place?" she asked. Ash turned his head to her and cheerfully nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, this is it. Looks pretty great, huh? I said earlier that I had to figure out what to do on short notice, so I went with the first thing I noticed while I was coming up with this. I know it doesn't seem like much, but I guess we'll find out what it's really like when we head inside." Ash commented. May showed a bright smile at this and nodded in agreement, so the two made their way over to the front door of the restaurant so they could head inside. As the two made their way over to the front entrance, they didn't notice that the Rocket Trio were following them from not too far behind and the three showed matching bright smiles as they looked up at the restaurant Ash and May were going to.

"So this is the place they're heading to? I have to be honest, it really looks like something special. What do you say to going inside to have a look? I could use a good dinner after walking around in the city." Jessie suggested, turning her head to James and Meowth who both turned to her with matching bright smiles and nodded in agreement.

"That sounds great to me, Jess!" Meowth replied. With this, the Rocket Trio started to walk over to the restaurant to see if they could find a table. As they were walking, James rushed over to keep up so he was walking beside Jessie and then a bright smile came to his face as he turned his glance to her. _'Well, this isn't exactly the date I had in mind for us, but I guess I'll make the most of what I have.' _James commented. He then looked down to notice that his and Jessie's hands were side by side, so he reached over and took Jessie's hand in his; luckily, she didn't seem to notice much to James's relief.

With Ash and May, the two had stepped into the restaurant and May was looking around at the interior with an expression of awe: there were tables laid out all around the room and the room itself was being lit up by two large chandeliers that hung on the ceiling. Ash turned his head with a bright smile to May with a bright smile, seeing just how awestruck she was at the sight of this place. The two then walked over to see the front receptionist who showed a bright smile when she noticed them. "Oh, good evening! You must be Ash Ketchum and May Maple, is that right?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's right. I had us booked for a table for two." Ash replied, nodding in confirmation. May turned to him in surprise, wondering when he made those reservations while the receptionist promptly nodded as she looked down at the bookings she had listed to see Ash and May's names before looking back up at the two.

"I have your names listed right here. Your table is up on the top floor; you can take the elevator just over there." The receptionist said before pointing over to the elevator that was just near the end of the room. Ash and May both turned their glances to notice this, so they started to make their way over to the elevator while from behind them, the Rocket Trio were just entering to catch up with them. As Ash and May arrived at the elevator and they were waiting for it to arrive at the bottom floor, May turned her head to Ash as there was something she wanted to know about.

"When did you make that booking?" she asked. Ash turned his head to her with a bright smile as he was more than willing to answer that. "Well, remember how I said that I went for a walk after I got what I was wearing for tonight? I came here and requested a booking for the two of us on the top floor. Believe me, May, you'll love it when we get up there." Ash replied, cheerfully smiling with confidence.

May simply nodded in understanding and just as Ash had finished talking, the elevator arrived on the bottom floor with the door opening so the two could step inside, with Ash pressing the button to get to Level Five, which was the top floor. As the door closed and the elevator started to make its way up, Ash showed a bright smile before placing a hand over one of the pockets of his jeans; that was where he had hidden the box that had the necklace he bought in it. _'Maybe I'll give this to May after we have dinner.' _Ash thought to himself; he was planning on showing it to her before they ate, but he figured that maybe that plan needed a rearrangement.

Back on the bottom floor, the Rocket Trio were waiting for the elevator to come back down, but it seemed to be taking a while which was starting to wear thin on Jessie's patience. "Oh, come on! How long does it take for these to come down when you need them?" Jessie asked, showing an expression of annoyance at the fact that the elevator was taking forever to arrive back on the bottom floor. James and Meowth had to admit that they weren't sure of that themselves, but then they turned their heads to see the receptionist speak up as she figured that they could use some help.

"The staircase is just that way." The receptionist said, pointing over to a door that was just to the right of the elevator leading to the staircase. The Rocket Trio all turned their heads to notice this before they looked back at the receptionist with matching bright smiles. "Oh, that's right. Thank you for the assistance!" Jessie replied. Without a moment to spare, the Rocket Trio pushed the door open before they started to head up the staircase to get up to the top floor while the receptionist watched with a smile of amusement.

Back with Ash and May, the elevator had finally arrived on the top floor and the door opened so the two could step out onto the top floor and May quickly showed a bright smile at the sight: along with the tables that had differing amounts of chairs placed with them, there was a glass door near the end of the room that led to a balcony with another table outside. Ash turned his head to May seeing how amazed she was noticing the top floor before he spoke up. "Yeah, it looks pretty great, huh? Our table is just outside." Ash said. May nearly jumped as soon as she heard that they got the table on the balcony, and then she nodded in understanding before the two made their way over to the glass door at the end of the room and Ash opened so the two could step out onto the balcony. Once the two were there, May quickly ran over to have a look at the view with a bright smile of awe while Ash followed behind her.

"Wow... the view up here is amazing! We can see all the city lights from up here." May happily commented. While she was busy admiring the view, Ash walked over to stand behind her while May turned her head to him with a big smile. "Ash... I really have no idea of what to say. First the whole day in Rustboro City together and now this; this is probably the best first date I've ever been on." May said, as she was still having trouble understanding what was happening; it was like a completely different side of Ash she didn't know about had been showing this whole day. Ash showed an expression of surprise hearing this and then he showed a bright smile before nodding.

"I know what you mean. I didn't know that spending the day out in Rustboro City would be so exciting, but it really makes me glad I spent it with you." Ash replied. He then reached over and placed one of his hands on top of May's, which she quickly turned her head to notice and looked up to see him showing her a big smile and she couldn't help herself smiling back. The two then around to face each other, both of them holding hands as they brightly smiled at each other; it was just the two of them with the city lights below and the night sky, and it almost felt like they were in their own world that was saved for just the two of them. Silence then filled the air as the two looked in each other's eyes, sapphire blue meeting chocolate brown, and they started to lean forward closer to each other. Just then, the sound of a voice interrupted them.

"Excuse me? Are you two ready to take your order?" Ash and May nearly jumped hearing that voice behind them and turned their heads to notice that it was the waitress who had come out to take their order for dinner. The two stared in silence for a few seconds before they both nodded and walked over to their table; they had a feeling that their moment alone had to wait until later.

Meanwhile, the Rocket Trio had finally arrived at the top floor; they had taken the staircase the whole way up and they were feeling a bit exhausted after that long climb. As the three arrived in the room after opening the door, they sat down on the floor to catch their breath for a few seconds. "I didn't think that getting all the way up here... while taking the stairs could be so exhausting... I'm surprised we didn't just wait for the elevator to come down." Jessie sighed. James then lifted his head up and an expression of surprise quickly came to his face as he noticed someone just ahead.

"Hey, look at that!" James said, pointing forward. Jessie and Meowth both turned their heads to see what was up and noticed Ash and May sitting at the table on the balcony enjoying their dinner, and the trio showed matching bright smiles upon seeing them.

"Look, there they are!" Meowth happily commented. The Rocket Trio then jumped up on their feet noticing Ash and May enjoying their meal together, with the two of them having matching spaghetti dishes, and turned their heads to each other. "They must be out on their first date. Ha ha, didn't think we'd see the day! Our little guy is finally growing up." Meowth stated, showing a bright smile as he watched the two. Jessie and James both showed bright smiles as they were listening to this before Jessie spoke up.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I think we could use a good meal ourselves. Let's see where we can find a table." Jessie said. "Okay." James and Meowth replied in unison, nodding in agreement with her. So the three started to have a look around to see where they could find a free table.

Back with Ash and May, the two had finished their meals and May was showing a big smile of delight. "Wow, this was so delicious! I'm so glad you made the choice for us to come here." May happily commented. Ash couldn't help showing a big smile seeing just how much May loved this place; it made him feel like he made the right decision for them to come here. "So what are you planning on us doing after we finish here?" May asked. Ash turned his glance down to think for a few moments and then he turned his head to notice that the night sky was clear, so he looked back at May.

"Well, since it's a clear night tonight, I was thinking that maybe we could go for a walk." Ash suggested. May quickly showed a bright smile at this suggestion and nodded in agreement. "That sounds perfect." she replied. With this, the two stood up from their table and started to walk over to the elevator, while the Rocket Trio watched them from their tables as the two seemed to be unaware that they were there.

Soon Ash and May arrived outside and the two were walking down the street, both of them holding hands and smiling at each other. As the two were looking around to figure out where they should go, May spotted a small quiet area just outside of the main city. She then tapped Ash on the shoulder to get his attention and pointed to it for him, to which Ash nodded in agreement and the two started to walk over there. It took the two only a few minutes to arrive and they sat down on one of the benches nearby to look up at the night sky. "I love when the night sky is clear. You can see all the stars shining above you." May happily commented. Ash nodded in agreement and then May scooted over closer beside Ash so she could rest her head on his shoulder, which he turned his head to notice and showed a bright smile before wrapping his arm around her to hold her close to him. "Thank you so much for all of this, Ash. I don't know if I could think of a better way to finish off this date than just being here with you and looking up at the stars." May said, turning her glance to Ash. Ash then simply showed a bright smile while May looked up at him in surprise, wondering what was up.

"Actually, May... I can think of one thing. There's something that I want to tell you." Ash replied. May sat up properly with an expression of surprise showing on her face before it was replaced with a hopeful smile as she started to wonder if this was the moment she had been waiting for. Ash noticed the smile that May was showing him and he could tell that she was eagerly awaiting this as much as he was. He then turned his glance and closed his eyes as he remembered Brock's advice: to just be who he was and tell her how he felt for her in his heart. Once he remembered this, a bright smile came to his face and he opened his eyes before turning his head up to May, feeling ready to tell her everything that he felt she should know about his feelings.

"May... during the time that we've been travelling together so far, we've become as close as we can be and I have always enjoyed spending time with you. But recently, I've realised something that I never knew about until now. That something... was how my feelings for you have changed." Ash explained. May showed an expression of surprise as she listening to this, and she figured that maybe she should wait until Ash was finished before she started getting her hopes up. Seeing that she was paying close attention to him, Ash continued.

"I always noticed that there was something different about your behaviour around me whenever we were alone. Initially, I didn't really think much of it and didn't really understand why you were acting the way you were. But then I found out the reason for your behaviour... was because you were in love with me, and had been this way since we met. When I first learnt about this, I didn't really know how to respond to it because I wasn't sure of when this happened. But then I remembered everything that we've done together since we started this adventure, and suddenly I could think about was you. It was at the moment that I realised... that this was what being in love felt like." Ash continued, remembering how he learnt about May's feelings for him when he overheard her talk with Natalie, but he figured it would be best not to mention that part to her. "And as soon as I realised that, that was when I realised that my feelings for you are more than just friendship." May slowly showed a bright smile when she heard this before Ash continued.

"I know this does sound like it's a bit sudden, but during the time we've been together, you've become someone I could never imagine being without. When you're with me, I feel like I can overcome any odds no matter how impossible they may seem, and I just feel complete when you're here with me. I mean, who wouldn't want to be with such an amazing girl like you? I always find myself thinking about you and it becomes hard for me to think about anything else. Every time I see your eyes, they look like they're shining like sapphire stones and I can never take my eyes off you. Your voice is like music to my ears and I love hearing it every chance I get. And when I see that smile on your face, it always makes my day and I never want to see that smile fade because I love to see it. Whenever I see you, I feel grateful I got the chance to meet and travel with such a sweet, kind-hearted, hard working and loyal girl like you. I guess what I'm trying to say is that..." Ash then placed a hand in one of his jean pockets and grabbed out the little box before showing it to May. "I finally understand what love is... because I'm in love with you." With this, he then lifted the box lid up to show the necklace he bought, with the sapphire gemstone shining brightly inside it. May stared at the necklace in awe before she picked it up from the box to have a closer look at it, and then she turned her glance up to Ash with a big smile.

"Ash... this is so beautiful... Thank you. And...did I hear that right? Did I just hear you say that... you're in love with me?" May asked, with tears of happiness slowly building in her eyes as she realised what Ash had just said to her; she had just heard him say the one thing that she had always wanted to say to him, but could never work up the courage to do so. Ash simply nodded in confirmation with a bright smile on his face.

"Yes, May, you did. I couldn't be more honest about my feelings for you if I tried. Everything I've said to you is how I truly feel for you in my heart. And I wanted to know if you would do me the honour... of being my girlfriend." Ash replied, before reaching forward and taking May's hands in his. After taking a few seconds to realise that her ears weren't playing tricks on her and what she was hearing from Ash was really happening, May slowly showed a big smile and the tears that had been building in her eyes started to flow down her face before she lunged forward and threw her arms around Ash in a tight hug, nearly tackling him in the process while he looked down at her in surprise before he started to show a bright smile seeing just how happy she was from hearing all of this.

"Ash... yes! Yes! I would love to be your girlfriend more than anything! I've always wanted to tell you about my feelings for you, but I never said anything because I wasn't sure of how you felt for me. But now... hearing you say that you share my feelings... it's like a dream come true! I feel like the happiest girl alive!" May cried, with tears of immense happiness flowing from her eyes as she realised what was happening right in front of her. After a few seconds, she then let go of Ash so she could brush her tears away. "I'm sorry... it's just that this is what I've been waiting for all this time." Once she was sure that she had the tears out of her eyes, May turned her head to Ash while he was simply listening to her with a comforting smile.

"Ash... you've been the one person who's always supported me since day one; even when I would make mistakes or feel like I didn't know what to do, you've never stopped believing in me or supporting me. Most other people would have probably given up on me because of how I would act, but you never have, and that's something I know I won't ever forget. Every time I see you, it feels like my world comes alive and all I see is the two of us together. No matter what danger we've come across, you've always been willing to protect me and keep me safe and you're always willing to put the safety of others before your own. I feel so glad that a girl like me was able to have the chance to meet such a wonderful, caring, courageous and sensitive boy like you. To be honest, I don't think any amount of words I could say properly express my feelings for you. I love you too, Ash, and I truly mean every word I've said." May explained, showing a bright smile while she was talking. Ash simply showed a big smile when he heard this and then he turned his glance down to notice that May was still holding the necklace in her hands.

"Is it okay if I help with this?" Ash asked, picking up the necklace. May cheerfully nodded in agreement before turning around to let Ash take care of the rest. With this, Ash leaned forward and placed the necklace around May's neck before fastening in on her neck. Once that was taken care of, May turned back around to face Ash with the sapphire gemstone showing at the front. "Wow, May, the necklace looks great on you. I guess I made the right choice to choose that one to give to you." Ash commented. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement with this.

"Yeah, I guess so. I wondered how you were still in that shop while I was waiting for you, but I guess I just found out now. Thanks, Ash." May replied. The two then brightly smiled at each other before they started to lean forward towards each other. May didn't take long to realise what this meant and didn't show any hesitance, as she leaned right over and pressed her lips against Ash's, leaving him to stare with his eyes wide open in shock, as he didn't see this coming. After a few seconds passed, Ash slowly showed a bright smile before returning May's kiss, with him placing one hand around her waist and the other behind her head. May seemed to realise what was happening because she then wrapped her arms around Ash.

There seemed to be nothing but silence in the surrounding area as it was just the two of them, Ash and May, sharing their first kiss. For May, this was a dream come true; here she was, finally sharing her first kiss with the one she had loved since the day they met. It was like they were in the world where it was just the two of them and no one else was there. As the two were alone, they didn't notice that the Rocket Trio were watching from behind a bush nearby and they were staring in shock as they were trying to register what they were seeing just in front of them.

"No way... are you guys seeing this?" Meowth asked, staring with his eyes wide open in shock. James could only slowly nod, as he was just feeling just as much as a loss of words as Meowth was. As Jessie was staring at the two, she started to feel tears building in her eyes before she let out a loud sob while James and Meowth turned their heads to her in surprise. "Jess? What's gotten into you?" Meowth asked. Jessie then started to brush her tears away before she turned her glance to James and Meowth.

"Nothing! It's just that... seeing them so happy like this..." Jessie was only able to say before she started to sob again and quickly covered her face with her hands as she didn't want the other two to see her like this. James simply showed an understanding smile before he scooted over to Jessie and gently wrapped his arms around her while she was still sobbing.

"It's okay, Jessie. I'm just as happy for them as you are." James said. He then turned his head back to Ash and May, showing a bright smile as he watched them; he wasn't saying it loud, but he really wanted for him and Jessie to be just like them, just enjoying every moment they had with each other like what Ash and May were doing right now, enjoying their first kiss together.

After a few seconds, Ash and May's lips slowly separated and the two simply looked at each other in the eyes, brightly smiling at each other. "Come on, we should probably be heading back to the Pokemon Centre. Brock and Misty will probably be wondering where we are by now." Ash suggested. May nodded in agreement, so with this, the two stood up from the bench and started to walk back to the Pokemon Centre holding hands and happily smiling at each other; they were looking forward to telling the two about when they had been doing when they got back.

Sure enough, at the Pokemon Centre, Brock and Misty were up in their room and they were waiting for Ash and May to get back. "Where do you think they could be? They said they were going to go for a walk around the city." Misty commented, showing an expression of concern as she was wondering what was taking Ash and May so long to arrive back.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Misty. I'm sure Ash and May are probably on their way back right now." Brock replied, showing a reassuring smile. Just then, the two heard a knock on the door and turned their heads in surprise. "That must be them right now." Brock said. With this, he went over to open the door and saw that sure enough, Ash and May were standing there with matching bright smiles. "Hey, you're back, you two! Where've you been all day?" Brock asked. He then looked down in surprise to notice that Ash and May were holding hands and a bright smile started to show on his face. "What do we have here? Is this what I think it is?" he asked. Misty turned her head with an expression of surprise, wondering what was going on.

Sure enough, the two nodded in confirmation. "It sure is, Brock. May and I went out on our first date tonight!" Ash replied, with May turning her head to him with a big smile. Brock and Misty showed matching expressions of alarm when they heard this, with Misty dropping Togepi as she was holding her in her arms, with the little Pokemon landing safely on the floor, and Pikachu quickly showed a big smile of delight as he was listening to this.

"And that's not all. We also shared our first kiss! And that means that we're boyfriend and girlfriend now!" May added, before throwing her arms around Ash while he turned his head to her with a bright smile. While Brock and Misty could only stare in alarm, Pikachu jumped up in the air in excitement before running over to them with a big smile on his face. Ash and May both looked down to see him there before they both brightly smiled at him, with May bending down to pick him up. "I guess Pikachu's been looking forward to hearing that for quite a while." May commented. Ash nodded in agreement before turning his head over to Pikachu.

"Hey, Pikachu, it's great to see that you're so happy for us. I have to admit, I wasn't sure of what you were going to say, but it's good to know that you're supporting us all the way." Ash said, showing a bright smile. Pikachu turned his head to Ash before nodding in agreement; he had been waiting for this moment to happen, so he didn't see any reason why he wouldn't be happy for them. They then turned their heads to Brock, who had just recovered from his shock of what he had heard and was showing a bright smile.

"Hey, that's great, you two! I've actually been waiting for this to happen just like Pikachu was." Brock said, while the others turned their heads to him in delight. The only one who wasn't feeling as thrilled as everyone else was Misty, as she could only stare with an expression of shock as she was registering what she was seeing.

"Ash and May... are boyfriend and girlfriend?" Misty could only ask to herself, blinking twice as she was trying to make sure she was seeing this right. As she was simply staring in shock, Togepi walked over to her with an expression of concern wondering if Misty was okay. Misty then looked down to see Togepi looking up at her in concern and quickly showed a nervous smile. "Oh, there's nothing to worry about, Togepi! I'm just fine!" Misty quickly stated, letting out a nervous laugh before she turned her glance back to Ash and May, with an expression of disappointment showing on her face.

Later that night, the group had turned in for the night and they were sound asleep in their bunk beds. As May was sleeping, she opened her eyes and looked around in surprise as the room seemed to be a bit too quiet for her liking. "Ash? Ash? Are you there?" May whispered, as she climbed out of her bunk bed and looked around while she was wondering where Ash could be. She then caught a glimpse of something standing out on the balcony, and she walked over before sliding the door open to see that it was Ash, looking out at the city view in front of him. "Ash?" she asked.

Ash turned around with an expression of surprise hearing that voice behind him and then a bright smile came to his face when he saw May there. "Oh, hi, May! I wasn't expecting you to come out here. What's up?" he asked. May then stepped out onto the balcony before closing the door behind her so they wouldn't accidently wake Brock and Misty up.

"I noticed that you weren't in your bunk, so I thought I'd come out here and find out what was up." May replied, walking over so she was standing beside Ash. Ash turned his head as he was watching May before he looked back out at the city view and noticing the clear night sky above their heads.

"I was just thinking about the day we spent together. It's hard to me to believe that I actually have a girlfriend now, and it's with you." Ash commented, turning his head to May while she looked at him in surprise. "Not that I would ever really think of anyone else, but... it's just hard for me to believe that in the span of a whole day, we would end up going from friends... to where we are now." Ash added. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean. I have to be honest: I wasn't expecting to hear you tell me about your feelings. But I feel so glad that you decided to, because it was just the perfect way to finish off our night together. And that necklace you gave me was so beautiful. I'll make sure I remember to wear it every chance I get, because I'll be able to look back on when you gave it to me and remember that this was where we started." May explained. Ash turned his head to her and nodded in agreement with a big smile.

"That sounds like a great idea to me. I had a feeling that you might like it, and I'm really happy that you liked it when I gave it to you. I think you should wear it every day, because that means I'll always have three jewels to admire." Ash commented. May nearly jumped in surprise when she heard this before she realised that Ash was talking about both the necklace and her eyes, and then she felt a bright smile show on her face and she nodded in agreement. The two then turned their heads back to look up at the night sky. "I have to admit, I wonder how the rest of our journey will go now that we're together; I wonder what else we'll be able to see in Hoenn." Ash said, closing his eyes as he started to wonder about the possibilities that awaited him and May on their journey. He was then met with a surprise when he felt something on his hand, and opened his eyes to see that May had placed one of her hands on his and she was looking at him with a determined smile.

"Well, I might not know anything about that, but there is something I do know for certain. Whatever awaits us on the road ahead, we won't be facing it alone." May stated, showing an expression of determination just like the one Ash would always show her. Ash stared at her in surprise for a few moments hearing her say this, but then he felt a bright smile cross his face and nodded in agreement.

"That's right. Whatever challenges we do face on the road, we'll face it together just like we've been doing before." Ash agreed. The two then brightly smiled at each other as they were both looking forward to everything that they were sure they would discover on their adventure together. After a few seconds, Ash let out a yawn before looking back at May. "I don't know about what you think, but it's been a bit of a long day for the both of us. Are you ready to turn in for the night?" Ash asked.

May let out a giggle at this before she nodded. "Yeah, I am. I could use a good night's sleep after spending the whole day in the city." she replied. With this, the two of them walked back over to the door and opened it before stepping back into their room, with Ash closing the door behind them.

It was very safe to say that it had been quite an eventful day for Ash and May: they had finally been able to confess their feelings for each other and they were looking forward to what awaited them on the rest of their journey through Hoenn together. In the span of one day, they had gone from friends... to lovers.


End file.
